Shizuka na Sonata
by Paradoxical Paradigm
Summary: Naruto's world is one of silence, yet his passion is sound. He's grown up believing in his own power, but this is one fight he can't win alone. Society is none too kind. He can't compose this sonata alone. Not this silent sonata. [Sasu Naru]
1. Prologue: Duet

**Warning**: Shizuka na Sonata, is **not** a rape fic_. _However, it does deal with_ **harassment** and heavy **ableism **_(a form of discrimination or social prejudice against people with disabilities) both of which are very real, and very pervasive_, no matter which country. _Please, if any of these are an issue for you, or if they possibly trigger you or an unhappy event, **do not read it**. You have been duly warned.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Duet**

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His world was one of silence.

Tokyo's boisterous streets, filled with foreigners speaking native tongues, high school girls jabbering about host clubs, corporate moguls sabotaging family-owned businesses, and street musicians or dancers entertaining passers-by—all of these combined noises went unnoticed by one.

He could imagine the sounds of peoples' feet pattering against the concrete floor, horns blaring, engines running, street vendors selling, wheels screeching only because at one time, he knew them. But he was too distracted to think about those trivialities (though, in recollection, they were not at all trivial to him). _One more week_! His stomach fluttered at just the thought. Everything would really change in just one more week. And thinking that, he continued on his way.

But as he was pushed into the busy street by a biker that _hadn't slowed down_ even though he'd just warned the young man to _watch out_, Uzumaki Naruto never imagined that the sky could be so blue today, peaking just beyond the tall city buildings.

_Quiet_. _So quiet_.

As he fell through the air, facing the sky, seeing _only_ the blue sky, he felt weightless. He didn't hear a sound. It was blissful. He was floating, the wind was blowing, and it was like being in the rolling hills of his home in the country, arms spread out wide.

This is what flying must be like.

And then the sky turned dark, and he felt pain.

**-Silent Sonata-**

"Oh my god! Someone call the ambulance!" a woman yelled anxiously toward the crowd gathering around the young man that'd met with the speeding sports utility vehicle.

"I thought he heard me when I told him to get out the way!" the man on the bicycle professed defensively as he pushed his bike against a railing and moved toward the growing crowd. "_He_ didn't move!" He pushed himself through the throng of people and stared in disgust at the scene, pulling at the roots of his hair in shock.

A young woman sat on the ground, cradling the youth's head on her lap to reduce his prospect of drowning in the blood pouring through his nose. "Did anyone call the ambulance?" she yelled, trying to staunch the blood.

The black vehicle that the blonde had encountered was slightly cracked in the windshield.

"Don't move!" the woman holding the young man yelled as he suddenly shook free from his stupor.

The blond blinked up in considerable shock, struggling to breathe. His eyes, red from the tears brought on by the numbness he _couldn't even feel_, fell on one face to the next, and he tried to move his body. He blinked once tiredly, unable to hear what the woman said as she moved her lips.

"Eh! Is he dead?‼ Oh, dear god, he's dead!"

"Clear the way! Ambulance coming through! I said _clear the way_!"

**-Silent Sonata-**

"You must have an angel watching over you, kid," the doctor spoke, pulling away from the blond as he took the stethoscope from his ears. "Uzumaki, right?"

Naruto blinked at the doctor and then nodded.

"Well, nothing that we couldn't fix. You should make a full recovery within the next couple of weeks or so, so don't strain yourself too much, especially your wrist," the doctor murmured, filling out a prescription for Naruto. The appendage was strained when he'd instinctively tried to break his fall after rolling off the hood of the vehicle that put him in his current predicament.

Naruto took the sheet of paper from the doctor and then looked over at his tutelary, who quietly sat in the corner of the room with a backpack in his hands. He smiled at Naruto and stood up, indicating that their stay, long overdue according to the blond, was finally at its finish. The doctor walked over to the older man and they shook hands.

"Thanks for taking care of the kid, doctor," the man said.

"No problem, Jiraiya-san. I know you were worried."

Jiraiya kicked his head back in weak laughter. "Of course I was," he agreed. "I mean, with him being…well…Just know that I'm glad you were able to take care of him the last couple of days and patch up the squirt. Let's go, kid!"

Naruto glared huffily at Jiraiya and stood up, wincing in pain. He limped over to his guardian slowly, bowed slightly at the doctor in gratitude, and followed the older man out of the room.

**-Silent Sonata-**

When they reached Naruto's apartment, Jiraiya unlocked the door and stepped in, rolling his eyes at the mess. Naruto walked to the bathroom to put his medicine in the cabinet and by the time he'd walked out after relieving himself, the older man was already picking things up from the floor and putting them in their respective places. He rolled his eyes and walked into his kitchen, patting his empty stomach and reaching for a cabinet.

"Don't you ever clean after yourself, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked in annoyance. He turned around to find the room empty, exhaled exasperatedly, and walked into the kitchen, where Naruto was already boiling a pot of ramen for himself. He sat at his table, bent over with his head cradled in his arms. Jiraiya walked to the other side of the table to face Naruto, whose eyes were closed. "Oi, Naruto!" He knocked his knuckles against the table top and Naruto instantly lifted his head. "You need to clean your apartment! It's not livable!" he said in aggravation, his hands moving rapidly.

"Stop doing that," Naruto retorted animatedly.

"Doing what?" Jiraiya asked.

"That!" Naruto pointed accusingly. "I can read your lips, or I can read your hands, but making me do both is so tiresome!"

"Well not everyone can conform to you, Naruto. I need to speak aloud to express myself!" Jiraiya gestured violently.

"Then quit moving your hands like that!" Naruto snapped. "You're gonna make me go crazy looking at too many things. I can read your lips just fine."

"Okay, okay, _fine_," Jiraiya hissed, thinning his eyes impatiently at Naruto. He then grumbled to himself, "That won't be an accurate read…" The water behind him came to a boil, and he turned around to finish making the ramen. He turned toward Naruto a little, but didn't face him fully. "So, are you gonna be fine by yourself the next couple of days? You just got out of the hospital." He heard Naruto knock on the table, and he turned around.

"Did you say something?" Naruto asked curiously.

_Oops, I slipped up,_ Jiraiya grimaced. From time to time, it still happened. He really didn't know why. "I said, Are you gonna be fine by yourself the next couple of days? You just got out of the hospital."

"Ah, I should be fine, old man! Don't coddle me! It's just a bruised ribcage!"

The older man turned deadpanned, unamused eyes to his ward. "And a sprained wrist, a torn ligament in your shoulder, a sprained _ankle_, a minor concussion—"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Naruto interjected. "No need to list everything off. Anyway, I should be fine. School won't start for another week, and I'm pretty sure that I can survive until then."

"You nervous about school?" Jiraiya asked with a grin.

Naruto blinked at Jiraiya and pouted his lips obstinately. "Please, I'm definitely not, I tell you!"

Jiraiya scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he said sarcastically. He looked down at his watch. "Well, I have to leave now. The plane for Okinawa leaves in about two hours, so I should get going."

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "Seriously? I thought you had more time…Are you sure you don't want me to at least see you off at the airport?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Ah, I'm sure," he said. "It's hard enough leaving you here in Tokyo, Naruto. If you see me off, you're gonna cry too hard!"

"No way, old man! They'll be tears of joy!" Naruto retorted with furled eyebrows.

Jiraiya smiled and Naruto followed him to the front door. He sighed heavily and turned to face Naruto, who looked down distressingly. "Hey, buck up, kiddo!" Jiraiya said, punching the blond lightly in the arm. "You're gonna do fine!"

Naruto looked away from Jiraiya and pouted. _But really, do you have to go so soon…?_

Jiraiya resisted the urge to hug the kid. _Eh, he's 18! He's an adult! Gotta treat him like one! No need for sentiments!_ So instead, he gave the blond a good, memorable noogie, pulled away when Naruto objected instantly with the raising of his fist, and gave another sigh. "Well then…"

"Well…" Naruto repeated.

"Goodbye. Do well, Naruto. And until you find a job, take this." Jiraiya pulled a check-card from his pocket and shoved it into Naruto's hands, grinning when Naruto's eyes lit up. "Don't go spending all that cash! I put a _ton _of money on the side for this, so you better spend frugally! Tokyo's expensive."

"Tch, I know, Jiraiya," Naruto said lightly. He looked down, biting his lip. "…Thanks…" He watched Jiraiya open the door, pouted again, and waved. "Bye…"

"Bye, kid. Write me, yeah?" Jiraiya said. Naruto nodded, and the man walked away with the blond watching until he was in the elevator.

Naruto quickly rushed to the window and stared out, waiting for the old man to come out of the building. He watched as Jiraiya sat in his rental car for a few minutes. Hesitation…? No, because the man started up the engine and drove off a few seconds after reaching up.

The blond sighed against the window, watching the fog thicken against the glass, and scrawled a little drawing into the dew covered glass quickly and then turned away.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto steeled his resolve as he stared at the large ornate buildings before him, surrounded by lush green trees and _students_ bustling about. His eyes turned to the the large sign overhead: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. _Aah! No way!_ He smacked his cheeks twice, turned around, and started to walk away. _I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this…_

Someone bumped into him, and he spun around quickly, walking toward the school again with wide, nervous eyes. Very well unable to navigate himself into the school with his eyes rapt on his feet, he lifted his head and made a beeline for the swinging doors of the main campus. _Why am I doing this? **Why **am I doing this? This was a stupid idea! Stupid! You're an idiot, Uzumaki Naruto!_

He sat down at one of the chairs for a moment, pulling out the folder from his backpack, and read its contents for the _umpteenth_ time. _Okay, head to the Department of Student Affairs_! Check! He stuffed the folder back into his backpack, stood up, and looked at the chart a few meters away to find the particular building. After memorizing the way, he took off.

When he reached the building, he headed to the particular office room, and went right in. A blonde foreigner caught his attention, and he headed for her instantly.

"Can I help you with something?" the woman asked pleasantly from behind the desk.

Naruto nodded quickly, pulled out the file from his backpack, and handed it to the woman. She took the folder with a smile, looked over it, and gasped. "Oh! You're Uzumaki Naruto! Wow! You did great getting here by yourself!"

Naruto looked at her curiously. "Well, I'm Tsunade, your advisor. Oh wait, um…" she paused. "Ah, do you understand me…? Oh, dear, ah…" The woman scrambled up from her seat, and Naruto's eyes_ absently _traveled downward, lingering on her sizable bust. He was a young man and could therefore take his liberties if he so wished.

"Sakura?" Tsunade called out. "Sakura, ah, Uzumaki Naruto is here!"

"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" was the response. A young woman with shocking strawberry-blonde hair came from a small room, closing the door behind her while repeatedly thanking the person in the other room with bows of appreciation. She walked right up to Naruto and Tsunade and gave a slight bow, which Naruto returned distractedly. Exasperatedly, she said, "You called, Tsunade?"

Tsunade nodded at Sakura. "Yes, Sakura. I wanted to introduce you. Haruno Sakura, _this_ is Uzumaki Naruto," she said, motioning to the blonde loudly.

"Oh! Oh, Uzumaki-kun! Oh! Wait!" Sakura said nervously, correcting herself. She then continued, "It's nice to meet you, Uzumaki-kun!"

Naruto smiled at the girl, expecting that this was his translator. There certainly was a god. "Ah, no need to be so formal, Sakura. Just call me Naruto." The girl giggled.

"So, Uzumaki-kun, Sakura is going to be your aid for the semester," Tsunade said slowly, raising her voice again. "Your first class is starting in a few minutes, so the two of you should really be going!" Unfortunately, the school was unprepared in their services toward Naruto, so they had to find a student to be his aid.

Sakura nodded at Tsunade, taking Naruto's folder, and turned to the blond. "Alright then, Naruto, let's go. You don't want to be late for your class on the first day!"

Naruto turned toward Sakura as they exited the building, and they walked toward the main building again. "Are you also a first year here?" he asked her as he held the door open for her.

"Yeah, I am," Sakura answered. She thanked him offhandedly and turned back to him. "Well, sort of. Well, I started a semester early, so I'm pretty familiar with this place."

"Oh."

"So, your concentration is graphic design, right? I heard you were a really good artist, but I didn't ever get a chance to see any of your work."

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and stopped short when Sakura reached for the door of their classroom. He breathed deeply. Hell, he was nervous as the grass was green. He was a country boy, and Tokyo was a big step for him! Still, that simple difference was very minor.

He actually _had_ a more legitimate reason to be nervous.

"Naruto, relax," Sakura said, jolting the blond with a warm hand on his shoulder. "If you're worried that anyone is gonna judge you because you have a han—"

"Ah! I'm not worried about that, I tell you!" Naruto interjected with a beaming smile. "It's just the first day jitters. I've never been to such a big school before is all!"

Sakura smiled at Naruto gently and opened the door, walking in and letting him trail in behind her. He would have sat in the back of the room, and he even suggested it with the pointing of his finger, but Sakura sat at a desk right in the _front_ of the room. He slouched in his seat nervously, avoiding the curious gazes of his classmates.

The professor sauntered into the room, stood at his podium, and looked at his watch. The students quieted down and stared at him. "Hot _damn_, I'm early…" the man murmured. "Miracles do happen," he grumbled before straightening his pose and staring lazily at his students. "I would apologize to you beforehand for my constant tardiness to this class, but honestly, I'm sure that you all don't mind, yeah?" He stared at the students in the room and zeroed in on the female in the front. "Yes, Sakura?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked. "Oh, nothing, Kakashi-sensei."

"You raised your hand?" the professor asked.

"Ah, no, I didn't," she murmured, ducking her head slightly.

"Oh…alright then," he muttered. "I could have sworn…" he opened his folder and stared at his roster. "I'll introduce myself. I am Hatake Kakashi, 26 years old, single, an art history professor and part time archeologist. And…well…I suppose that sums me up," he finished. He looked down at his roster again. "Alright, I'm going to call roll. I'd like you to introduce yourselves—" he paused. "Yes, Sakura?"

"I didn't raise my hand," Sakura said defensively, smiling weakly at the teacher.

"…Right," the professor said with a hesitant nod of his head. He stared curiously at the young blond sitting next to Sakura, and grinned when he perversely assumed that the male was ogling Sakura. _Kid, you got to be more discreet about your staring. _He shook his head. "Uh, continuing, then," he said undeterred, "I'd like you to stand up and introduce yourselves, and tell us what your main concentration is, and if you wish it, you can tell your fellow classmates why you chose it, your favorite medium, and anything else you might want to share." He looked at his roster again. "I always like to mix things up, so for a change of pace, let us call roll backwards, shall we? First up…ah Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura sat up straight, then slyly knocked at the side of Naruto's desk to catch his attention. He looked at her and then at the professor, and wilted slightly in his seat.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" the professor asked, looking at his students in question. A short moment passed, and he looked up front again when the blond begrudgingly pulled himself out of his seat.

_Just don't think about it. Just go ahead and do it. It's not like I'm an alien. You've gotta get it over with anyway, right? Right. Okay. **Go**._

"Ah, face the class, please," Kakashi said, gesturing toward Naruto's classmates.

Naruto bit his lip and slowly turned around. His vision blurred ahead of him and he nervously tightened his hands into fists. His hand slowly went up to his brow, where he scratched.

"No need to be shy," the professor spoke. "We're all new people here, yeah?"

Sakura jolted to attention when Naruto's hands began to move slowly. "Oh," she whispered to herself before she stood up next to Naruto. She cleared her throat. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Sakura said, watching Naruto's hands. "My concentration is design. While painting is…very important to me, my true passion…is…" she paused when Naruto paused, and shrugged her shoulders in thought. "Is music…" she ended off with a tone of shock. _Wait. What?_

Naruto dropped his hands, and, not lifting his head, slumped back into his seat. He didn't hear the silence that followed his introduction, or the whispers that ensued thereafter. He didn't hear a few of the students clear their throats in unease, or the teacher continue with the roll call after a short pause. He didn't hear Sakura's introduction, or the sliding of the seats when someone would push their chair back to stand.

After all, Naruto's world _was_ one of silence.

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**Comment**: Naruto wasn't literally "talking" in this chapter. I hinted at his using sign language, writing how he wildly gestured to Jiraiya and Sakura, for example. Also, he only 'SPOKE' to Jiraiya and Sakura, people who knew sign language. He never spoke to the doctor, and he never spoke to Tsunade, because they don't know sign language.


	2. Part I: Adagio

**Comment**: «Words» indicates signing, "Words" indicates regular speech, and "Words'" indicates speaking and signing, okay? And when I write 'he said' or 'asked' or on the lines that has to do with speech in conjunction with Naruto, consider it being signed and not literally spoken.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Adagio**

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Naruto's legs nervously bobbed up and down under his desk as he stared at his professor. At some point, he'd stopped staring at Sakura's hands, retreated into his own thoughts, and anxiously dipped his head between his palms as he stared at the clock behind the professor. After he'd introduced himself, all he did was stare at that clock, counting down the minutes as they slowly passed, and he tried his best not to look anywhere. Not behind him, not to his side, and certainly not at his professor, whom he could see at the corner of his eye turning his attention to him every few minutes or so.

He didn't have to hear anyone speak to know that there was someone whispering. He could _feel _it. He could feel it so badly that he almost turned around and pointed accusingly at whomever fell at the folly of his accusing stare, but something within him broke at the very prospect of making a fool of himself.

_Seriously, I should have just stayed in Kushima…Jiraiya was there__. _The thought alone of that man made Naruto's stomach turn. A little voice in him wanted to return the the safety of his home, where even though he was still different, people had become accustomed to him.

Next to him, Sakura stood up, closing her notebook, and Naruto, understanding that the class was dismissed early, never left a room so speedily.

If it hadn't been for the girl's halting hand, Naruto would very well have bolted out of the campus. Instead, in the sparsely crowded hall, Sakura stopped Naruto and he turned to face her. His anxiety quickly dissipated to unabashed anger upon seeing her pitying expression. _I don't want your damn pity! _he thought. Quickly, he gestured, «What!»

Sakura pouted slightly at Naruto, tucking her notebook into her sling-bag. _I don't want to offend him. _With that thought in mind, she began, "'Naruto, I know you're a little nervous,'" she said softly while signing. She then tentatively said, "'You shouldn't run away just because you're a little different.'"

«What would you know?» Naruto motioned, put off with her failed attempt to console him. «You can hear just _fine_! Don't you tell me what I should and shouldn't do when you can blend in with everyone else!» He suddenly turned away from the prying eyes of a student that passed by them, suddenly feeling that he was the center of everyone's attention.

People often stared without even intending to do so, whether out of intrigue, or out of some type of disgust.

Sakura blinked at Naruto, gritting her teeth. _Who is he to talk to me like this!_ she thought angrily. _Here I am **putting** myself out to help him and **this** is the gratitude he shows me? How childish!_

Naruto jerked away from Sakura with a soundless yelp, hand sprawled in his hair from the throbbing sensation engulfing its side. He straightened up instantly and glared in shock and anger at her. «You _hit_ me?»

Sakura's face went from shocked that she'd actually taken that action, and then her stance turned resolute and she placed a hand on her hip and berated him like a child. "'I did! I am trying to help you, so the least you can do is show some gratitude!'"

«Damn it, that seriously hurt! Why are you so _freakishly_ strong?» Naruto gestured wildly, walking away from Sakura in slight alarm. _That hurt!_

Sakura's jaw dropped and she watched him walk away. "_Freakishly strong? _Oh, I should kick him to kingdom come," she murmured under her breath exasperatedly. "You'd _think _he'd be a bit more humble! And here I was feeling bad for hitting him for a moment." She trudged behind Naruto until she caught up with him, and then kept in step with him. After a few seconds of aimless walking, Sakura waved her hand at Naruto to catch his attention.

The blond faced Sakura, and near rolled his eyes when she started signing and speaking to him at the same time.

"'Naruto, where are you going?'" Sakura asked.

«Don't do that!» Naruto signed quickly, taking a glance around to see if anyone was walking by.

The girl blinked at him. "'Do what?'" she asked.

«Don't sign and talk to me at the same time. Here: if you face me, I can read your lips,» Naruto suggested.

"'But why?'" Sakura asked. "'Besides, if I look at you while I'm walking and talking, we might end up walking into something!'"

Naruto hissed his teeth at Sakura and turned away. «I just don't want anyone to see…»

Sakura looked down, considering Naruto's proposition. She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so," she murmured, understanding where he was coming from. Who _would_ want to stand out like that…? She saw Naruto wave his hand at her slightly, and he signed «What?» to her. She faced him and repeated. "I guess so."

Naruto gave her a grin and continued walking. «This is the way to the Student Café, right?» he asked. Sakura nodded her head, wide-eyed, and he continued. «Good, I'm _starving_!»

"'Why?'" Sakura signed, hoping that the small movement of her hand wouldn't bother Naruto.

«I didn't eat breakfast this morning!» he said emphatically.

When the two of them reached the Café, Naruto ordered miso ramen (via Sakura) and looked for a table that was well isolated to sit at. They both sat at the table, waiting for the food to be prepared, and Naruto looked at Sakura while she pulled out a pair of head phones and her notebook. She set her music player on , crossed her legs, and propped her chin on her palm, bobbing her head quickly.

Naruto waved his hand at Sakura. When he gained her attention, he signed, «How do you know sign language…?»

"Hmm?" She hummed, barely catching what he'd said. It was an odd question, but understanding that a deaf person like him would be interested to know why a person who could hear perfectly will like her would know sign language, she answered, «Well, my father was deaf» she signed, biting her tongue from speaking aloud. «So I learned.»

«Oh…» Naruto answered, his face solemn. She said was, and he assumed that her father must have passed away. «Sorry for asking…»

«Ah, it's okay» Sakura responded, waving her hand in dismissal. «He died when I was young anyway, so its a wound well covered by time. Anyway, after that, I began to volunteer at a local school where I lived that had special programs for deaf and blind students.»

«Oh.»

Sakura wriggled in her seat in apprehension, wondering if she should ask the question that was plaguing her mind. Naruto, sensing her discomfort, asked her what was wrong, and she lied, saying "Nothing…" in a soft tone, shaking her head.

«Don't lie,» Naruto signed with a grin. «I have sixth sense, you know.» He paused, thinking about his statement. «Well, fifth…»

Biting the inside of her cheek, she began to sign, «Were you _born_ de—»

"Miso ramen and shrimp teriyaki!" the woman at the lunch counter shouted impatiently. "Please come and get it!" she groused.

"Oh!" Sakura sat up, pulling off her headphones as she pulled away from her seat, signing to Naruto that their lunch was ready. He stood up behind her, stomach growling, and they paid for and picked up their food, in which she apologized for not having heard the woman before. Sakura walked on ahead of Naruto, but he, feeling the slightest of vibrations under his feet, paused and stared at the entrance doors. Waiting for a few seconds, he shook his head before ducking his head and walking to his table.

It was nothing.

Sakura watched Naruto as he wolfed down his food. _"My concentration is design. But my true passion…is music…" _At first, when she was reiterating his signs, she'd thought she had made a mistake and faltered. His passion was music? She picked at her teriyaki idly, watching as he tapped his free hand against the table top with a familiar beat.

"So, Naruto," she began. She nearly smacked herself when he didn't answer, then knocked her knuckles against the table top.

Naruto looked up at her with a small chunk of leek sticking out his mouth, and he acknowledged her with the slight nod of his head.

«In our class, what did you mean when you said—» She nearly fell out her seat when someone bowled her over from the side. "Hey! What's the—Ino!"

"Sakura, my love!" The blonde yelled as she sat next to Sakura. "Your forehead is as shiny as ever, I see!"

"Ah, I love you too, Ino," Sakura murmured darkly, glaring at Ino. She turned away for a second to chew on a shrimp. "Your class is over?" she asked, lightening her tone. When Ino didn't answer, she turned back to her friend and nearly growled when she saw Ino ogling the blond sitting across from them.

"Yeah, yeah," Ino answered with a wave of her hand. "But no matter. In-tro-_duce _yourself!" she said pointedly to Naruto.

Naruto lifted his head at feeling the table jostle slightly, sat straight at seeing Ino, and then looked over at Sakura as if asking her what he should have done.

_Oh god, he looks like a lost puppy,_ Sakura thought. She pinched the bridge of her nose, then turned to Ino. "Um, Ino, this is Uzumaki Naruto." She paused.

"Hey, let him speak for himself, would you? It's so unbecoming when a guy has a girl speak up for him," she hissed at Sakura playfully, turning back to Naruto, "Right, Na-ru-to?" She winked.

Sakura cleared her throat uneasily then leaned toward Ino. "He, ah, he…" Wriggling in her seat uncomfortably, she then cupped her hand at her friend's ear for the sake of being discrete.

Naruto watched the transaction with growing irritation. When Ino looked at him with a sudden dubious expression, he glared at Sakura. "Yeah, _sure_, Sakura!" the blonde female said in disbelief.

Naruto knocked on the table to hold the girls' attention. «You didn't have to _whisper_ it! It's not like I could have _heard _you in the _first_ place!» Naruto gestured angrily at Sakura, standing up with his food tray in hand and turning about. Ino sat up straight in her seat.

"You were serious?" Ino whispered behind her hand.

"Yes!" Sakura groused.

When Naruto returned to the table, he made to grab his back pack and stopped short when he slightly caught Ino say, "There's always something wrong with the hot ones…" She turned defensively to Sakura when the strawberry-blonde jabbed her in her side. "What? It's true!" She paused and gawked at Naruto when he motioned his hands angrily at Sakura, pointing at her accusingly. He then turned to Ino and promptly flipped her off.

Sakura's head jerked back and she blinked owlishly at the blond as he turned around and stormed off. She placed a hand against her cheek.

"Sakura…?" Ino asked, knowing for some reason that those other gestures were probably for her as well. "I thought you told me he was deaf!"

"What? He is!" Sakura retorted. "He can _read_ your lips if he tries hard enough!"

"Then what did he just say to you?‼"

"Em, I think it might be in your best interest to, ah, not worry about that," Sakura murmured, her face a full red colour. She stood up, offering the rest of her teriyaki to Ino, who accepted the food. "I have to catch up with him. I'm not sure if he really knows where he's going."

"Alright, I'll see you later, Sakura," Ino mumbled, chewing on the food. _Damn it, what did he say? _

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto turned around in the hall again, checking to see if Sakura was following him. Not seeing her, he thinned his eyes as his mind instantly zeroed in on that _disgusting_ blonde friend of hers. He hissed his teeth irritably, stomping through the halls. _That stupid…stupid…**ugh**! That's why I can't fucking **stand** people like her_ He ran into many people like her, judging him instantly because he was deaf. All of them tended to react or treat him quite the same, making those faces, or regarding him with some guarded stance.

He knew where he was going, as he'd stared at the school map long enough for days that he could navigate through _this_ part of the campus blindfolded (though in retrospect, that was a ludicrous idea). He looked at the classroom plaques on the wall as he passed, and the offices of the deans and professors, and stopped short when he felt a deep rumbling under his feet.

He neared a door and peered in through the small window. Actually, it was more than likely a soundproof practice rooml, and it was only a guy struggling with a tuba. _Oh, **that **explains it, _he thought. The deep vibrations of the tuba were strong enough for _any_ sensitive person to feel even behind a soundproof door. He quickly moved on, peering in one classroom or another, whether empty or full of students, and stopped at a large classroom full of orchestral students playing their instruments.

_School's just started and they're playing! Why would the already be practicing? _He wondered slightly. Seeing the way they moved their bows and hands deftly was an indication in itself: _Maybe they're the advance orchestra…_ he thought in bewilderment. He couldn't fully see the orchestra, but watched as a particular student standing next to the professor pulled his violin to his neck played it differently from the others. _Oh…, a soloist_. _Maybe they **are** the advanced orchestra…_

He watched the student for a short while before he drew away from the door in boredom, walked on, and turned the corner, peering down the hall and seeing a door ajar. He sauntered in the direction and, upon reaching the small room and seeing that it was empty of any persons, he walked in and pulled the door slightly behind him, paying little heed if it'd actually shut behind him. His gaze zeroed in on the corner of them and he dropped his sac on the floor as he took a few steps to the piano.

This was secretly what he'd been looking for in the last few minutes.

Naruto sat on the cushioned bench and stared appreciatively at the black, lacquered finish of the instrument. Tilting his head childishly, he then ran a finger over the smooth surface, sitting back as he lifted the cover, sliding his fingers above the ivory keys without using any pressure to make noise. It felt so clean.

_"Music won't be the same for you anymore, Naruto."_

A note strung in the air, and he put his foot on the left-most pedal, _una corda_, to soften the tone so that it was but a whisper of sound. He grimaced, knowing that he wouldn't hear the note either way. With his left hand, he reached over to the lowest note and pressed it firmly while placing his cheek on the music rack. He felt that one. It twisted around his bones and shook him to his core.

He moved the next note up, closing his eyes. He felt that one too. It _felt_ audible. The vibration was almost just as good as hearing the note. He continued the upscale, switching hands when he got to middle C, and kept going up the scale until he couldn't feel the higher vibrations. But even though he couldn't feel them, the sound and physical texture of a piano was so ingrained in his every nerves, as if his body were a tuning fork instead of flesh and blood. So familiar he was with the instrument that it was easy to replace the unfelt vibrations with the sounds in his imagination. They were like colours, he could see them so well.

Pulling away from the large instrument and sitting straight, he put together a few chords with his left hand, and went up an octave with the same chords with his right hand. It felt so good. He could close his eyes and feel it. He began to move his fingers tentatively and individually over the keys, tapping slowly at first and then picking up tempo quickly.

He very well couldn't stop _now_. So he let himself go completely.

**-Silent Sonata-**

"Okay, guys! Stop!" Iruka yelled, waving his hands energetically to the students. He sighed and rubbed his temples as the stringed instruments dulled to a high drill and finally stopped. "You guys got too relaxed over your summer break, huh," he began, looking out at the students in irritation. "Violas, you're not keeping in tempo! Don't slack off. Everyone except violas can take a rest." He paced his podium slowly, trying to remember where the students had started messing up, and then looked at his sheet music. "Okay, violas," he began, running his fingers over the notes, as if mentally playing the music, to make his decision. "I want you to pick up from measure—" he paused when loud piano music cut him off.

Someone was playing piano in another room. Ah, it stopped… _Must've closed the door_, he thought.

He looked up at his students again. "Okay, measure 52!" Iruka continued, gesturing for them to begin. They sat straight and he tapped his feet and waved his hands in symmetry, and they picked up when his hands reached eye level. "Good!" They played for mere seconds and then the piano from the other room interceded after a few measures.

Iruka gritted his teeth. "Seriously?" he hissed in irritation, walking to the door as a few students snickered. He certainly was a lover of music, championed and pioneered it. There was _no crime_ in students playing their instruments. But there was a limit to how many different sounds could be played at once—otherwise it was cacophony. Like now. He swung open the door, stuck his head out, and yelled, "Would you please close your door?" into the hallway.

The music didn't slow in tempo, and Iruka murmured to himself testily about useless freshmen. This happened every semester. While the music itself wasn't at all _bad_ (but slightly sloppy in some areas), it was a nuisance and hindered his orchestra from practicing. _I really don't have time for this_. He turned to his students and looked at them before begrudgingly pointing to his soloist. "Can you _please_?" he groused. "We have a concert in a week-and-a-half, and most of you guys aren't up to par yet. Kurenai will be extremely put off."

The delegated young man straightened and discreetly rolled his eyes as he stood up and set his viola and bow on his chair carefully. He tucked his hand in his pocket and walked to the door, opening it. "And don't just close their door," Iruka said behind him while turning back to his students, lifting his hands again. "It will just breed ignorance. Just brief him or her on the rules and come right back; I want to pick up from your solo afterwards."

The student closed the door behind him and walked down to the practice rooms, searching for the open door. He stopped at the corner, looked to his right, and then his left. He spotted, a few doors down, where the music was coming from. He clicked his tongue in aggravation when he reached to room, a blond playing with his back facing him. _He sends me to do these things. Do it yourself, useless teacher_. He peeked into the room for only a second before knocking. "You have to close the door when you're playing," he said loudly over the music. _Ugh, freshmen…all the same_. He glared when he elicited no response.

The playing wasn't half bad, he deigned to admit. He could recognize the etude—not an easy one by any means, although it only seemed to be simply going up and down scales—as "The Devil's Staircase" was a rather advanced piece even for a piano study. But it sounded somewhat sloppy (especially the higher notes), with drawn out, dramatic pauses and too many dampened notes, which took clarity away from the etude. He smacked the door. "You have to close the door when you're playing." He paused, not getting a reaction at _all_ from the blond player, who stopped playing for calculated seconds before picking up again on the low notes.

The idiot was ignoring him completely. He rolled his eyes and, deciding that this person perhaps needed a dose of a tense and fuming professor, left the door open and walked back to the orchestra room. When he ambled in, he simply shrugged his thin shoulders at his professor nonchalantly, picking up his viola and bow and sitting back down. He did his part.

Iruka gritted his teeth and left the room quickly ("Have them pick up on measure 52, Sasuke!"), making his way down the hall. He pulled the door open _full swing_ where the student was playing and yelled, "If you don't mind, I'm holding a _class_ right now!" And still, the player continued undeterred. His impatience boiled to Kelvin-flaming hot from the lack of response, and he hastily jumped at the piano and banged his hand against the top three times.

Naruto jumped up in a soundless shout, with the bench nearly crashing down behind him, hands clasped over his chest as he gawked at the incensed man standing in front of him. His heart pounded underneath his fingers, and he nearly saw white. He'd been so focused on playing, and those particularly unexpected bangs on the piano top had sufficiently terrified him.

Iruka prattled off angrily at the blond: "Are you _deaf_?‼ My student came in here and you completely ignored him! You can play the piano, but there are regulations to this hall that you have to follow, the first being to _make sure that your damn door is **closed**! _And you have to have staff permission for the first few days, which I'm sure you don't have because I'm the only one here for right now, and I'm supposed to be getting the students ready for a _concert!_" he yelled emphatically in one breath.

Naruto looked up at him.

The professor stiffened and clenched his fists in order to control himself when the blond looked at him as if he hadn't understood a word. _So help me, if he didn't understand a word I just said...!_

Narut stared at the man and blinked in awe. _I've never seen anyone speak so fast… _He shook his head slightly in confusion.

"Naruto!"

The professor turned to the doorway, where he saw a flustered strawberry-blonde leaning against the doorway, heaving up gulps of air. Naruto, seeing the man turn to the door, instinctively turned as well, still too shocked to acknowledge Sakura the moment he laid eyes on her. "Do you know him?" Iruka asked Sakura testily, gritting his teeth.

Sakura breathed in deeply and answered in the positive, standing straight. "I'm so sorry, professor! I've been looking for him and—"

"Just, _please_, get. Him. _Out!" _Iruka said darkly, causing Sakura to jump up, and even Naruto, who could see a vein bulging from the man's forehead._ God_, he was too _stressed _for this garbage!

"Sakura…"

Sakura, at hearing her name, turned around to the entrance of the room and said in surprise, "Sasuke!"

With one hand in his pocket and the other tapping the tip of his bow on his shoulder, Sasuke tilted his chin in Naruto's direction. "You two should leave. Iruka-sensei is tense."

"Ah, I'm so sorry, you guys! I lost track of him and couldn't find him anywhere! Really, I'm so sorry, pro—"

There was a knock on the piano frame, and the three of them turned to Naruto. He looked at Sakura with wide eyes and, raising his hand cautiously, asked «What's going on…? What happened?»

"Oh," Sakura mumbled, resisting the urge to slap her forehead in front of them. "'Sorry, Naruto,'" she began, completely forgetting Naruto's dislike of her speaking and signing at the same time. "'The music campus has explicit rules! You have to have staff permission to use these practice rooms for the first few days, and the doors have to be closed behind you. How did you get in here?'"

Iruka gawked, and Sasuke canted his head at the exchange. _That explains it…_

«Oh…? Well I found this room open…» Naruto signed cautiously. «And I didn't know I wasn't supposed to come in. Besides, I thought the door had closed behind me.»

Iruka looked from Naruto to Sakura owlishly, his jaw slack. "You're…!"

Sakura turned to Iruka. "Um, he said that he didn't know he wasn't allowed in since the door was wide open, and he thought that it'd been shut behind him." She turned to Naruto quickly and signed cautiously, "'Maybe we should go…'"

Naruto nodded, eyebrows furled in concern. That professor looked like one wrong thing would make him explode. «Good idea,» he signed while picking up his backpack. He slinked past the teacher, bowing apologetically, then glanced at Sasuke before he stood next to Sakura, who apologized for the both of them again. She turned away, and he tapped her on her shoulder to gain her attention. He moved his hands in front of her, pointing at himself and then jabbing his thumb at the teacher, his face turning sour. His hands gestured at the walls, and then he lowered them, tilting his head at the professor, as if telling Sakura, 'Tell him what I just told you.'

"Ah," she hummed, turning to the two others. "Umm, he said that maybe you should make sure that the doors are locked next time," she murmured. "And that it's not entirely his fault, seeing as there aren't any rules posted," she murmured, not wanting to _chastise_ them on Naruto's part. She turned away, heard Naruto shuffle behind her, and gaped when he headed back to the piano, pointing at Iruka purposefully. "Naruto!"

Naruto adjusted his backpack as it fell forward when he leaned over the piano, playing a few notes. He then played the same notes an octave higher, pushing down on a certain key three times in both octaves. He pointed to the piano, and then to Iruka purposefully, wagging his finger_. _And then he pressed down on the note that, when he'd been playing, felt so strange to him_. It's out of tune._ He promptly turned about and followed Sakura.

Iruka nodded absentmindedly in understanding (as he already knew that the note was out of tune. He was going to have the percussion repaired today) and watched the two walk away before looking from the piano to Naruto, pointing accusingly. Shame washed over him. He looked at the piano again and murmured to himself with an embarrassed blush, "I can't _believe _that I asked him if he was deaf_…_"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he turned about, stealing a glance at the two retreating, somewhat astounded. **_How _**_could he tell that it was flat…? _He turned around after he heard his teacher adjusting the bench, pulling his hand out of his pocket to push back his hair. His professor then stood there dumbly, and Sasuke watched as the blond and Sakura quietly exchanged gestures with each other as they walked away. "Iruka, the orchestra," the student said pointedly when he looked back at the professor.

"Oh, right!" Iruka blurted from his stupor. He followed his student back to his class, taking a moment to glance one last time as Naruto and Sakura turned the corner.

Neither the professor nor Sasuke could help the words that slipped out of their mouths simultaneously as they gravely whispered to themselves:

"He's _good_."

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**Comment**: If you would like to know how The Devil's Staircase sounds, visit: youtube . com / watch? v=1ZTaiDHqs5s

It's a very intense and heart-racing piece, and it was an interesting performance!


	3. Part I: Energico

**Comment: (Please read my Author's comment) **Thanks for the reviews you guys! They're wonderful! Also understand that from time to time, a person that speaks sign language will jump around from using sign language, to speaking and signing at the same time, or even just _speaking_ to Naruto (since he can read lips). I'm just telling you so that you don't think it's a mistake on my part. Please excuse the excessive cursing in this chapter.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Energico**

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Naruto pulled his key out of the keyhole and pushed open his door, moseying inside his apartment with an audible sigh. He dropped his backpack along with his bag of new school books and plopped down onto his small couch. Ah, there was no one here, and he was gonna be bored and alone! He leaned his head back uncomfortably until he was staring out is window. There was a bird out on a branch that stretched over his window, and he pouted, watching it. He'd seen it from time to time perching there. He tousled his hair with his hands in aggravation and suddenly jumped up when he felt a vibrating in his pant pocket. He sat straight and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open. A large grin tore at his lips. _It's Kiba!_ He opened the text message and read it.

'Yo, bitch! You haven't talked to me since you moved to Tokyo, you fucking butt-munch! Too good for us country folk now? I feel abandoned. Anyway, how was first day of class? You home?'

Naruto snorted after reading the message. Oh, Kiba. He replied, 'Ah, I totally forgot to get back to you, dude! Sorry man, I'm just so swamped! Class was okay I guess. What's new with you? How are your parents handling your, uh, decision? And yes, I'm home.' He looked at his clock for a moment and then shoved the phone into his pocket, heading over to his kitchen obediently at the rumbling of his stomach. He rummaged through his cabinets to find something _other_ than ramen, as he'd eaten it at some point each_ day_ since he moved here. The unhealthy meal was starting to effect him.

This morning, he'd stared at his reflection in his body-sized mirror in minute horror, clutching the fat around his waist between his fingers, and he decided that he needed to start jogging again. He had been on the track team in high school (which Jiraiya was against at first. It took him a lot of convincing, and it was also extra effort for his coaches), so he had been in perfect, lean shape. However, after graduating from high school gave him little incentive to actually run, so from summer onwards, he'd gotten _extremely_ lazy.

He stopped short of opening his Frigidaire when his phone vibrated again in his hand. He read the message: 'It's cool, dude. Tokyo's a busy life, man! Um, my dad still isn't talking to me, and ma's telling me that the old man wants me out of the house. Got any good jobs up there? Haha…'

_Ah, crap! _Naruto thought, smacking himself with his other hand. _Damn it, I forgot about that!_ He clucked his tongue at himself, replying, 'I totally forgot to look for a job. I'm sure that there are tons of jobs around here, though. But seriously, your dad is kicking you out? That sucks so much!' He sent the message and opened the Frigidaire, rummaging through it. Perhaps he would it was just stick to rice and steamed vegetables for dinner tonight, then.

He took out the pre-sliced vegetables from the Frigidaire, walked over to his cabinet, and pulled out his rice-maker. He poured in a generous amount of rice and water, placing the vegetables in the steamer. He flipped his phone open again and read: 'Yeah, I was thinking of moving out anyway…There was too much tension. I'll have to find a roommate to help me with the bills, though. I was actually joking about needing a job. I already have one.'

Naruto began to respond but stopped short when a red light above the entrance of the kitchen flashed, as well as the red light in his salon room, which he could see from the opening of the side of the kitchen. When he'd first moved into the apartment, Jiraiya had helped him set up the lights in each of his rooms—with the permission of the landlord, of course. Provided that a doorbell would serve no purpose to the blond, as he couldn't _hear_ it, he needed something that would alert him of visitors. So when the light began to flash, he curiously but quickly shuffled to the front door, earnestly wondering _whom _it could be. He unlocked the door and opened it slowly.

Upon seeing his visitor, his jaw went slack and his eyes began to sting. This was unexpected!

Kiba stood at the door with a large grin, cellular phone in one hand, and then made gestures that read_, '_Need a roommate?'

Naruto gawked at his friend, stared at his phone, and the turned his gaze at Kiba again, pointing at him accusingly. What trickery was this?

"Yo!" Kiba said with a closed-fingered wave of his hand.

«What are you doing here?» Naruto signed quickly.

The brunet tilted his head at his friend and then tutted. "'You gonna let me in, or are you just gonna stare?'" he asked, raising his brows. The words that spilled from his lips were joined with his signing. It never _did _really bother Naruto when it was _Kiba_ signing and talking at the same time. Perhaps it was because he knew that Kiba was as much a vocal person as he'd been when younger that it would almost seem unnatural for him to be quiet.

Naruto nodded quickly, apologizing, and led Kiba in, looking into the hall curiously. «Where's Akamaru…?»

"'Dude, your landlord is a bit of an _ass_!'" Kiba answered moodily as he kicked off his shoes. He sloughed off his backpack and duffle-bag by the doorway. "'I had to leave Akamaru in the kennel out back, man! The guy thought I was bringin' in wild animals!'"

Thinking about his landlord, Naruto couldn't help but agree. The man would regard him rather rudely, he noticed over the past two weeks. In Jiraiya's presence, the landlord had been rather pleasant, but when his guardian had left, Naruto noticed a shift in his demeanor. It was something he was accustomed to, though, but he absently wondered _when_ he would get some relief from these kinds of ignorant actions. «Yeah, he is,» Naruto agreed distractedly. «…But what are you doing here?‼» he repeated.

Kiba paced through the apartment, nodding in approval as he ignored Naruto. "Hm. Not bad at _all_," he murmured to himself. He checked out the kitchen, which was nicely sized and had an open-bar type view of the living room. He snuck a quick peek at the food being prepared and whirled about at the sound of Naruto's loud clap.

«What are you doing here?‼» Naruto repeated, his shock having bled into impatience.

"'Oh, dude, I found a job up here a couple of days ago,'" Kiba answered. "'Surprised?'"

«Hell yeah!» Naruto said, pumping his fist at his friend. «So you're moving to Tokyo? What kind of job did you find?‼»

Kiba snickered, falling onto Naruto's couch and propping his legs onto the armrest. "'Well, I guess I'm sort of in a rut, 'cause I'm not doing anything _that_ different from what I was doing at home,'" he murmured, smacking himself in thought.

Kiba's father and mother owned a renown Veterinarian Hospital back at home, and they'd trained him from _infancy_ to take over the business as the _male _heir when he came of age (as he had _three _older sisters _and_ a younger sister. His father didn't want to stop until he had a second male heir to ensure their future lest anything happen to Kiba, but the doctor had told him that his wife couldn't take another child birth without consequences). They made sure that he was in all accelerated courses and that he went to cram schools as soon as he started high school because all they wanted was a _prodigy_. He ended up being among the top of his class and even received a _full_ scholarship from the top _medical_ university in the country.

Despite that, Kiba had _always_ expressed that what his parents did was certainly not his passion. It wasn't for him. He was a free-spirited guy, and owning a business and having obligations towards little girls and their sweet furry animals just wasn't for him. He _really_ hated the thought. With that in mind, Kiba had finally told his parents his decision a few weeks before he graduated high school, and Naruto fully supported him.

He decided to reject the scholarship, and heartbreakingly admitted to his father that he had no desire to do what he'd been raised to do. He specifically remembered telling his father that his older sister was more fit for the job, as she _honestly_ wanted to impress her father, and she loved treating animals. It had to have been the hardest thing he'd ever done. He and his father never had a solid relationship, but his decision completely severed any semblance of affection or close ties between the two. When his father had realized that Kiba's resolve was _not _going to budge, that he was not just 'acting out' he became so livid that they have yet to speak with each other.

Naruto knocked on his coffee table to grab Kiba's attention, and the brunette apologized with a grin. «So…where are you working?» Naruto asked.

"'I snagged a job as a supervisor at a pet store,'" Kiba answered with a weak laugh, rubbing his neck. He was certainly a recent high school graduate, but his résumé was rather impressive, so a job of that level was not far out of his reach.

«Oh?»

"Yeah, the pay is good. I'm gonna start next Monday, which gives me enough time to find a place up here.'" He sighed.

Naruto nodded slowly in understanding. «_I_ need to find a job,» he said with a nod.

Kiba turned away with a grimace. He knew Naruto since grade school in Kushima. That place was a considerably small town, where everybody knew everybody. Naruto was a well-known person there, so people were used to his condition, but they were in _Tokyo_ now, not the country. He'd seen Naruto let down so many times in that _small_ town, but watched in awe when the blond did so many things that people had told him he would never be able to do again. He was usually the person who stood right by him, aiding him in any manner possible._ Hell_, he thought, they'd told Naruto that he'd never be able to walk again, but he was on track team no less than a year later.

Tokyo wasn't some small, country town, though. It wasn't as kind as Kushima. Society dealt a cruel hand to the handicapped, and he saw a taste of that in Naruto's case. There was no way that Naruto was going to get a job in this city without conviction. He would have to take each rejection with an ounce of decorum. The last thing Kiba wanted to see was _that_ old Naruto, a person from the past he barely recognized. It was something dreadful, but _damn it_, at the same time, he just wanted to see Naruto meet his potential and take that a step further.

Naruto was so damn _talented_. People just never gave him a chance.

A knock on the table jogged him back to attention—again. Kiba stared at Naruto, who signed «You definitely have ADHD, Kiba!»

The brunet grinned at him and stuck his finger at his friend. "'Hey! We should go get a few newspapers and search through the help-wanted ads!'"

Naruto pursed his lips in consideration, propping his chin on his thumb. «A good idea for_ once_ from you, Kiba!»

Kiba slugged Naruto on the arm and Naruto shot back with his own fist. "'The food's gonna take a while, right?'" he asked, standing up and fixing his jacket. Naruto nodded. "'Then let's do it now!'"

Naruto stood up and pulled on his hoodie.

**-Silent Sonata-**

After getting his pet from the kennel out back (Akamaru waggled his bushy tail so enthusiastically when they walked out the building, and he yapped up a storm when Naruto ran toward him playfully), Kiba and Naruto went walking down the street and stopped at each vendor that sold a different newspaper. Naruto pulled against Akamaru's leash playfully then patted it on its furry red head from time to time. People stared at the two incredulously, understandably. The pet was a bit abnormal to be seen leashed and walking the streets. Foxes, although growing in popularity as house pets, belonged in forests.

Kiba lightly kicked his foot out at Naruto, who was still bent over in front of Akamaru. Gaining the blonde's attention, he said, "'Seriously, man, I know you missed Akamaru, but I'm starting to feel lonely, you fucker.'"

Naruto grinned at Kiba and then stood straight. He looked over the brunet's face. «I'm sorry, Kiba, but you're just not as cute,» Naruto signed with a sarcastic expression_._

The brunet glared lightly at his friend and jutted his fist at him jokingly. "'Well, anyway, I wanted to know out of curiosity…How'd you manage classes?'" Kiba asked, taking the leash from Naruto and tugging Akamaru away from a food vendor.

«Actually,» Naruto began, «I have a student aid helping me. They didn't have any professionals at the school.» The statement rang true. It would cost the school a great deal to have a translator for him. He knew the expenses. He didn't have a personal interpreter because the wages were more than he could afford to spend. To be honest, the fact that his advisor went out of her way to try to find a student who knew sign language was a gesture that Naruto greatly appreciated. Not many people were so kind.

Naruto got back to the issue of his aid. «She's pretty _hot_.» He punctuated the statement by using his hands to make the contour of a woman's physique.

"'Oho?'" Kiba grinned, nudging Naruto with his elbow again as they continued to walk.

«Yeah, her name is _Sakura. _She's known sign language for a few years now, so she—»

A young man—maybe a few years older than them—plowed right into Naruto.

"Stay out of my restaurant, you little _thief!_" a rotund, muscled man yelled, shaking his thick fist at the young man that ran into Naruto. "I knew you were taking money from the cash register for the past month; I just didn't know you were stupid enough to lie about it. You thought I'd keep you hired?"

The young man stood straight and dusted himself off angrily. Kiba and Naruto stared the interaction with wide eyes, both jerking away from the large man, and Akamaru yowled. "Well maybe you should have paid me better, old man! Fuck you!"

"_Fired_! You're _fired_, Mizuki You hear me? Don't even _think_ about stepping foot back in here! I'll have you arrested so fast. You were a lazy, sluggish _thief_, and I don't need that kind of person here!"

The guy fixed his long hair and faced that man. "Whatever, _fat-ass_! I wouldn't want to come back here _anyway_!" he roared, kicking the garbage can in front of the store. "I'm outta here, fuck!" he said, turning about and stepping back when he saw Naruto and Kiba staring at him wide eyed. "What the fuck are _you _staring at, bitch?" he hissed, stepping back again when Akamaru grunted and growled dangerously below him. He brushed past them rudely, yelling out expletives as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

The restaurant owner hissed his teeth angrily. "That _brat_," he grunted, picking up the garbage can. He faced Naruto and Kiba and murmured shamefully, "I sincerely apologize that you had to see that."

Naruto and Kiba both shook their heads and the latter uttered, "It happens…"

The man walked into his restaurant, leaving the two out there with a lightly yapping Akamaru. Naruto turned to Kiba and asked «What was _that_ about?»

Kiba replied, «That guy just got fired 'cause he was stealing from the register or something…», not voicing the sentence for the sake of discretion.

«Ooh…» Naruto responded. He watched Kiba tug at Akamaru's leash lightly and walk away, but a thought _instantly _struck him. He slapped his fist into his open palm and rushed over to Kiba, tugging on his shoulder.

"'What?'" Kiba asked.

«Hey…, you think that they might need a new employee?» Naruto asked anxiously.

Kiba grimaced, scratching his chin. Naruto was too fast. "'Maybe…?'" Naruto turned around instantly and headed into the restaurant. "Oi! Naruto, hold on!" he cried after Naruto, cursing to himself as he followed Naruto in after once again tying Akamaru to a street lamp in front of the store.

"Welcome to Akamichiraku!" a rotund male that they supposed was about their age greeted gladly. "Will you be eating here or taking out?" he asked politely.

Naruto jabbed Kiba in his side and simply signed «Boss» nonchalantly.

Kiba glowered again, but complied with Naruto. "Actually, we were wondering if we could speak with the man that just came back in here. Was he your boss?"

The guy's face turned slightly sour and his lip twitched. _Complainers…_ he thought moodily. "Dad! These _customers_ want to talk to you!" he roared nasally, looking back at the two, one of whom (the blond) smiled at him excitedly. He couldn't understand why.

The large man came out from the kitchen again, wiping his hands clean of any grime. "Yes sirs? What can I do for you?" he asked as the two faced him. His son mouthed 'Complainers! Kick 'em out!' behind their backs, and he waved his hand in dismissal at his son. "Just get back to work, Chouji," he hissed. Sometimes the boy interfered a bit too much.

The teen grumbled moodily and set himself at cleaning a few of the tables around him, ensuring that they were near perfection, and asked the customers if they needed anything. It was a small restaurant, but by the amount of customers in it at this time of the day, it seemed that it was successful.

The man directed Kiba and Naruto to a table near the back and away from too many people, and the three sat. "You were the two kids outside just a few minutes ago," he said warily, sitting back as the two nodded. "What is it that you want?" He tried to come of as polite as possible, but the direct question made Kiba fidget in his seat slightly. There was a gentle demeanor about him now, but the he'd been in with his former employee likely had a stronger impact on the two boys seated before him.

"Actually," Kiba began, "we noticed that you, um, fired that guy."

"Yes, and what _of_ it?" the man asked, slightly tensed.

"Well, my friend here," Kiba started, jabbing his thumb at Naruto, who gave a short wave, "is in need of a job, and he was wondering if you were now a bit shorthanded on staff, seeing as you are down one person."

"Oh?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at Naruto. Well this was certainly a relief. He didn't know what intention the two of them had come in, and asking for employment was the last thing he thought they would do. He glanced at the blond in front of him, and in return he received an enthusiastic nod. This boy was most certainly a foreigner, blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned. "What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"He's Uzumaki Naruto, 18," Kiba answered for Naruto.

"_You_ want the job?" the man asked Kiba briskly, absently noting that the name was far from foreign. He must be of mixed descent, then.

"Ah…no…?" Kiba answered, quirking his head at the odd question.

"So then, let him answer," he murmured testily.

"Eh, well, the truth is, um…" Kiba stuttered, scratching his side burn anxiously, "well, that Naruto's, ah, deaf." He muffled out the last word.

"Huh?" the owner asked, leaning closer again.

"Um, he's _deaf_," Kiba repeated, leaning forward so that only the owner could hear. The man straightened up automatically, like everyone did when they found out that Naruto was deaf, and he glanced at Naruto warily. "But he's completely capable of work!" the brunet added quickly.

"Hmm!" the man grunted, sitting back as he put his chin in his fist, drumming his thumb against a round cheek. Naruto signed something to Kiba, and the older gentleman looked at the brunet curiously.

"Oh, and Naruto lives about ten to fifteen minutes away from here, so his location is convenient!"

The owner closed his eyes in thought. He honestly wasn't too keen about having the kid work for him. Let alone he was a foreigner. That would attract a lot attention, some quite unwarranted. A foreigner with a handicap was certainly not an enhancement on the image of the restaurant. In fact, it could very well _hinder_ the workflow. However, he _was_ short handed and now with that _rat_ was gone, he had to admit that he would need an extra pair of hands or two. He sighed tiredly, glancing at the two and inwardly groaning at Naruto's hopeful face. "_Bah!_" he groused. "I'm not too crazy about the idea!" he grumbled honestly.

Naruto's smile fell.

"But I'm a bit short-handed." He sat back and crossed his arms. He glanced over at the blond. "Well," he started, "you have an honest, good-looking face. Yeah," he said, turning to Kiba. "Tell him that."

Kiba did so, slumping his shoulders. He couldn't understand where this could possibly lead.

"And I also think that because you are foreign, you might be able to attract more females…" he turned to Kiba, who then chuckled. "Tell him that."

Naruto grinned at the man hopefully.

The man sighed again, shutting his eyes in deep thought and clenching his teeth. After a while, he let out a long groan. "I'll tell you what," he began, staring squarely at Naruto. "I'm gonna put you on hold for a few days. As I said before, I'm not too keen on the idea. This is the type of place that requires a lot of _verbal_ communication, as you can see." He pointed behind them, and the two of them watched the fast pace at which Chouji and another girl worked about taking orders, picking up dirty plates, and bringing over food, thanking people for their patience. He continued. "If no one applies within the next few days, or if someone _does_ apply and he or she isn't up to par, I'll contact you somehow and see if you meet standards. Don't get your hopes up, but don't be too pessimistic either. It's up in the air. I could use you for other tasks." He turned to Kiba. "Tell him that."

Naruto clenched his jaws determinably and turned to Kiba, signing, «I got most of it.»

"What'd he say?" the man asked curiously, his voice lowered.

"Ah, he said he understood you for the most part," Kiba answered. At the man's confused expression, he continued. "Naruto can read lips if you speak clearly."

"Oh…" the man murmured_. Observant kid… _He turned to Naruto, somewhat impressed. "You're a good kid, I can tell. You saw an opportunity and jumped right on it. I like that type of initiative." He nodded to himself, affirming something in his mind. After a moment, he asked, "Uh, how should I contact you?" He'd raised his voice, as if the action helped the hearing situation. "Email?"

Naruto chuckled and nodded at the man, signing to Kiba, «I can't hear at all. Yelling won't help. _Tell him that_,» he finished, quoting on the man smartly.

Kiba let out a cackle, agreeing internally, and said to the owner, "Naruto's deaf, so yelling doesn't help." He couldn't understand why people raised their voices whenever they talked to Naruto. Admittedly, he yelled a few times at his friend, but that was merely to voice his frustrations.

In response, the man grumbled and murmured something to himself. He glared at the two light-heartedly and breathed out through his nose in what Kiba could only consider as a chuckle. When Naruto held up his cell phone at the man, Kiba said, "Ah, he uses his phone for texts and emails."

The man nodded and exchanged phone numbers with Naruto, grumbling to himself that he wasn't up to date with all this technology that kids used today. "Well then…" he started, standing up. The two stood as well and bowed at them. "Well then, I'll be calling. Or no…I'll be emailing…or I'll send a text. Bah! Whatever you young kids do these days. It's like an epidemic…"

Naruto bowed thankfully at the man. He and Kiba left the restaurant, waving to Chouji, and the man crossed his arms over his chest, nodding to his son. "Nice kids," he mumbled.

When the two exited the restaurant, Kiba bent down and began to untie Akamaru from the pole. The fox yipped thankfully at him, beating his little paws against the concrete in anxiety. When the brunet finished, he stood straight and curled an eyebrow at his friend. "'Well that was easy,'" he said in utter surprise.

Naruto nodded, his expression mirroring that of Kiba's. He'd worked himself up with the idea that he wouldn't be able to get a job in the first place, but here he and Kiba were, searching. However, he convinced himself that he shouldn't be too hopeful but this potential job. The man seemed rather apprehensive. Even so, a small voice at the back of his mind told him that he would get the job. Resolutely, he said to Kiba, «I'll try and apply to other places, though!»

Kiba nodded, being pulled about by Akamaru. "'Dude,'" he started, pulling the handle of the leash around his wrist. His other hand went to his stomach for a moment, and then he admitted to Naruto, "'I need to eat something or else I'm gonna pass out. That place smelled good!'"

«I'm pretty sure that my food finished by now, if you wanna head back,» Naruto replied. Kiba nodded and the two walked back toward Naruto's apartment. After a few minutes, they passed a hotel, and Naruto smacked Kiba in the arm lightly to get his attention. «Hey, where have you been staying these past couple of days? You have relatives up here?» he asked.

"'Nope, no relatives. I've been staying at a hotel. It's too fuckin' expensive!'" Kiba answered emphatically.

«You wanna crash at my place?» Naruto asked. «I have an extra futon.»

Kiba rolled his eyes, stretching his hands upwards like Naruto's words were heaven-sent. "'Naruto, I thought you'd never _ask_!'"

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto and Kiba sat at the couch after eating, and took a little more than an hour to catch up with each other. They played a game of cards, and they laughed about good times in high school while Akamaru rested in the corner (which had taken quite some convincing for the landlord to understand that Akamaru was a pet and not just some wild animal. The building _did _allow pets, but the landowner had been wary of Kiba's presence earlier). It was only a three week time that the two hadn't seen each other, but they were stuck at the hip, so the time spent apart was torture.

Naruto stretched and then asked Kiba, «Do you really need a roommate? It's so quiet and boring here by myself…, so if you want—»

"I can stay, right?" Kiba asked, pumping his fist into the air as he bounced childishly on the couch. "I knew you wouldn't leave me hangin', man!"

Naruto grinned slightly. «Don't be so cocky. Now I have someone to share the rent with,» he said, glaring.

Kiba bobbed his head to internal music, taking another once-over of the apartment. It was decent in size, so he could _definitely _see himself fitting right in. There was a lot of open space, but not all of Naruto's boxes were unpacked yet, taking up some room in an empty corner. But the place seemed like it was missing something important. With a sudden realization, Kiba knew what it was. «Hey, Naruto…, you haven't gotten a piano yet? I thought you said you were gonna get one as soon as you moved here,» he said, as he continued to skim over the place, figuring out where in the apartment a piano would best fit. His sixth sense kicked in, telling him that Naruto was going to answer, and he looked over at the blond.

«Not yet,» Naruto responded. «I'm still getting settled in, you know? I still have to unpack all my books and art supplies and all that good stuff. Besides, pianos are expensive as hell.»

Kiba nodded in understanding. _Eh! Speaking of which…_ he thought. He cleared his throat. "'So, uh, how did, um, Jiraiya react about your major-change?'" he asked.

Naruto blinked at Kiba, propping his elbow on his knee as he sank further into the couch (as he and Kiba were sitting at opposite ends, facing each other with their backs against the armrests and their legs curled on the couch while they played their game). It didn't take much for Kiba to understand what Naruto was conveying, though the blond didn't say a word. Not only his body language, but his face, with his eyebrows guiltily drawn in, said more than enough.

"'…Naruto…you _did _tell him, right?'" Kiba asked in a dead-panned tone, dropping his chin.

Naruto slowly shook his head, knowing what was coming. Akamaru even lifted his head in the corner, flattening his ears as his fur bristled. A _storm_. «I'm going to tell him…soon…» Naruto said slowly. He glanced quickly at Kiba and shivered, feeling a drop in temperature.

"What the _fuck_, Naruto? How long are you going to wait? After you've fucking _graduated_?" Kiba roared, reaching his feet over as he gave the blond a few successive kicks. Naruto shrank further into the couch. "Fuck, Naruto! If you don't do this _now_ you're _never_ gonna fucking do it! Here I am, _backing _you up on your choice to _fucking **fight**_, but I ain't gonna if _you're_ not doing shit!" he yelled. He sat back again, hollering over the couch for Akamaru to _stop _his_ yipping_, red-faced and angry. «You _know_ you have to give them a review, right?» he signed. «At your school, you have to do a review, and you can't just _switch _majors at the drop of a hat! If you wait too long, you'll be left behind!»

«I know, I know,» Naruto said. «You think I _don't? _Shit, you think I didn't do my share of research when I got the scholarship?»

Kiba rolled his eyes. "'Then _what_ are you _waiting_ for? Tell me you haven't even spoken to your advisor yet!'" he groused.

Naruto shrugged his shoulder and looked away nervously. He was scared and hesitant. _Damn it, don't do it__! _His throat closed up and he heaved in a gulp of air. Kiba, of all people, should know that this wasn't easy for him. _Kiba should_ _fucking_ **_know_**. He faced the brunet, eyes red, and Kiba shook his head in objection and waved his finger back at him.

«Oh, no, no, Naruto. You better not be backing down. _Shit_. If you're backing down _now_, what the hell did you go around for back at home after track practice, huh?» Kiba shook his head again, leaning forward and pointing his finger at Naruto warningly. "Look, you didn't take no for an answer when they said you wouldn't walk again, and I'm not gonna let you say no _now_," he said, articulating _every_ syllable gravely. "You pulled me into this _shit_, so we're both in it. Don't give me this shit."

Sometimes he had to be harsh with Naruto, even if it hurt either or both of them. If he wasn't like this with Naruto, then the blonde's resolve would start to shake. Naruto seemed like a strong person, but the truth was that beyond the exterior of confidence was a person who quite unsure of himself. Naruto could _hide_ it well, but Kiba had long learned how to read his friend. Right now, the major shift that Naruto wanted to make in his life was paralyzing.

Naruto clenched his jaw tightly with determination, shaking his head slightly. Sometimes he wondered if he was starting to lose his cool. He looked back up at Kiba when the brunet nudged him with his foot.

"Hey… 'Fight!', right?" Kiba asked more gently as he smacked his own cheeks and pumped a fist into the air.

Naruto chuckled halfheartedly then pulled his hand away from his forehead, unconvincingly smacking his cheeks and jabbing his fist into the air.

Kiba grinned, biting his lip playfully as he kicked Naruto again with his heel. "'Jeez, Naruto, what would you do without me, huh? You'd have the resolve of a woman.'"

Naruto hissed at Kiba's challenging words and kicked his friend _hard_, purposefully aiming at a sensitive area.

"Whoa? The hell! You almost got my jewels, you little turd-munch!"

No, Kiba definitely wouldn't let Naruto slip back to the way he was before. That was a Naruto from the past.

.o.

* * *

**Comment**: So, Kiba makes his impression on the story.


	4. Part I: Beat!

**Comment: **Thank you for reviews. Please be aware that there is cursing in this chapter.

* * *

**.  
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**.o.  
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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Beat!**

**.o.**

**.  
**

Naruto stared at Sakura's retreating back, and Kiba's nagging voice just kept speaking to him in his mind's eye. _I have to tell her_… he thought. It'd been three days since Kiba had lost his temper with him, and the week near its end. Every time he came home from his classes, Kiba would look at him hopefully, as if asking, 'Did you do it yet?' When he would turn away guiltily with no answer, the brunet would just roll his eyes wordlessly and head to work or school. Sometimes his friend reminded him of a hopeful dog.

Each day that he waited genuinely made the process of switching his major more difficult, and it made the pressure more physical, causing him to feel sick to his stomach. His insides were knotted, and truthfully he felt unwell for the whole day. This was _not_ easy! He bit at his lip, walking behind Sakura slowly, then smacked his cheeks with both hands and pumped his fist into the air. _Fight!_ He caught up with her and tapped her shoulder.

Sakura turned to him with wide, stressed eyes. «What?» she asked. «The closest art store closes in an hour, so we need to get there quick so we can get our supplies for our classes,» she finished, pulling at her hair in anxiety as she walked on. Those supplies did _not _run cheap, so the sales wouldn't last much longer, and other students would get everything _she _needed.

Naruto stopped her with the clap of his hand. She turned around and he started, «I know, but Sakura…» He stood still, not wanting to walk any further, lest they actually walk off the campus. Sakura childishly turned about, stomping her feet in impatience as she drawled out a "_Whaaaat_?" He waited for her mini tantrum to pass before he stated, «Sakura, I really need to speak with Tsunade…»

Sakura slumped her shoulders, groaning long-sufferingly as she looked up. She then placed the back of her hand on her forehead dramatically, peaking at him to see if the action made him feel guilty in any way. Naruto chuckled quietly at her actions, but she could tell that he wasn't swayed. "'It can't _wait_?'" she asked. Naruto shook his head. "'Not even _tomorrow_?'" she asked hopefully, clasping her hands together after she finished signing.

Naruto pursed his lips and shook his head again quickly.

Sakura puffed out a breath of hair, clenching her teeth as she walked up to Naruto. She grabbed onto the straps of his backpack and then shook him violently. "Okay, Naruto!" she said. She stalked past him huffily and stomped towards the Student Affairs.

Naruto grinned behind her, thinking her actions so dramatic and cute, but jumped back when she spun around, holding her fist up at him and shaking it in a promise of_ pain_ (he could have sworn her eyes were on fire). He apologized to her like a whipped dog and trailed behind her. He liked her personality, he'd come to realize in the past few days that he'd gotten to know her. She was a fierce person, but it was sort of attractive because she was full of passion. At the tail of her passion was a person who cared deeply about her beliefs.

Sakura's plans for the day were duly ruined, but she reasoned to herself, _Argh! He better be glad he's so cute! Damn it all! _There was something about Naruto that made her give in to his occasional pleas. She couldn't help it.

When they reached the office, Sakura asked Naruto curiously why he needed to talk to Tsunade. He'd simply replied, «I need to request a change in major…»

"Oh?" Sakura asked, thanking him when he held the door open for her. «Graphic Design not cutting it for you? I saw some of your work, and it's _really good! _What are you gonna switch out to? Fine arts? Art History?» When they reached Tsunade's desk, Sakura greeted the woman and Naruto waved.

Tsunade smiled up at the two of them. "Hello, Sakura," she said, then turned to Naruto. She grinned and then signed slowly, «How are you, Naruto?»

Naruto beamed at Tsunade, taken aback as he placed his hand on his heart in mock-surprise. «Whoa! You know sign language!»

Sakura smiled, smacking the woman on her hand playfully. "'Wah, Tsunade, you've been holding out on us, huh?'"

Tsunade snickered, sitting back. "Hey, I'm a fast learner," she said, flicking her nose with her thumb. "But I'm just learning some things here and there. I'm your advisor, so I need to communicate with you, right?"

Naruto nodded, having read her lips, and said, «Go for it! You'll learn in no time!», which Sakura pleasantly translated for him.

The woman sat straight and saluted Naruto militantly. "I'll do my best, so teach me well!" The three chuckled when Naruto returned the salute, and Tsunade, knowing they were there for a purpose, pulled her seat back to her desk. She twirled her pen between her fingers and looked at them seriously. "So, what brings you two here? I know you're not just here to say hello."

Sakura nodded grimly. "Yes, Naruto needed to speak with you," she said. She turned to Naruto. "'You want to request a change of major, right?'" she asked him. Naruto nodded. He took off his backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out a folder. After confidently straightening himself, he tugged out a sheet of paper, looked over it for a second, and then meekly handed it to Tsunade.

The blonde woman put on her glasses and took the paper, reading over it. Her head jerked back, as she was clearly perturbed at the words before her. She looked back up at Naruto, who stared at her with determination, and realized that it was _neither _a mistake nor some whimsical decision he made. "You're serious about this…" she said, and Naruto nodded again. She looked over at Sakura. "You _knew_ about this?" she asked.

Naruto tapped at the desktop and got her attention. He shook his head then pointed at himself. _No, this is all me._

Sakura, feeling accused of some malicious deed, said, "No, Naruto just told me that he wanted to change his major just now. Why?" She reached forward and took the sheet from Tsunade. After a moment, her eyes widened. «Is this serious, Naruto?»

Naruto nodded again, and Sakura couldn't help but remember what had happened earlier this week, when her upperclassman, Sasuke, had approached her.

**- Tuesday -**

_Sakura adjusted her bag as she walked over to the student affairs office, closing her phone after responding to Ino's text message. Interestingly, Ino hadn't eaten today with her and Naruto after what'd happened yesterday, understandably. She chuckled, remembering what Naruto said about Ino after she'd offended him._

_«Wow, they said that blonde girls were shallow bitches! Now I know what they're like, and I can make sure I don't catch their infectious stupidity. Maybe she should go to the red light district where she can stick something **else** in her mouth other than her **foot**.»_

_Oh, fighting words indeed. It'd shocked her, to say the least. She didn't imagine that Naruto could have such heavy words against Ino, but she chalked the statement up to his storehouse of remarks reserved for ignorant comments. She chuckled shamelessly again, thinking to herself that Ino definitely deserved it for sticking her foot in her mouth. The girl tended to do that from time to time. She reached for the door._

_"Sakura."_

_She turned about and looked up at Sasuke, who also seemed ready to go home. "Oh, Sasuke…!" she said in surprise. "Headed home?"_

_Sasuke shrugged his shoulder, answering, "Mm. My professors got a little stressed and sent everyone home early."  
_

_"Ooh," Sakura murmured, lifting her eyebrows. "When is the concert again?"" she asked, adjusting her sack. It felt good to be able to talk with Sasuke like this. There didn't seem to be any strain between the two._

_"Next Wednesday at five," he mumbled. He really didn't care to talk about the upcoming concert. He didn't even want to 'idly chat' with Sakura at the moment, as he had other things to attend to. He'd only been passing by when he'd seen Sakura coincidentally, and he instantly remembered yesterday's little number with that blond. Nabuto or something on that line. His playing had been...decent.  
_

_"Well," Sakura began, jolting him back to attention as she pointed to the office door. "If that was it…, then I'll be—"_

_"That guy yesterday," Sasuke interjected. "The one that was in the piano room."_

_"Oh, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "I'm really sorry if he disturbed you guys! What happened? He didn't really explain." Ah. She was starting to feel a little uncomfortable—she was blabbing. Sasuke had a way in his stare that did that to her. Yet, he also had a way of making people feel inferior and intimidated. She knew him too long to feel inferior to him, though. Even though he never said it, he viewed her as an equal. Why else would he talk to her when he barely talked to other people?  
_

_"What's his major?" Sasuke asked in an unconcerned manner._

_"Um, he's a graphic design major," she answered. "Why…?"_

_Sasuke looked down, eyebrows drawn in. **So he's not a music major…** It made sense, then that he didn't see or pass the blond in any of the halls today. The music department was considerably smaller than the art department, so he quite often would see the same face multiple times during the day.**  
**_

_"Why, Sasuke?" Sakura pressed._

_"Is he completely deaf?" he asked._

_Sakura furled her eyebrows in curiosity, slightly defensive of Naruto. "I'm sure he is, yeah," she answered, crossing her arms. "Why do you ask?" Sasuke? Uchiha **Sasuke** was showing interest in someone? She had to resist the urge to check his temperature._

_"What's his last name?" Sasuke inquired._

_Sakura was slightly put off with Sasuke's evasiveness. Sure she'd only heard that Iruka professor screaming at Naruto, but what exactly **did** Naruto do? Did he break the piano or something? Were they going to **fine** him? "Sasuke, what happened? Did he do something to the piano?"_

_"Don't worry about it," Sasuke answered unoffendingly. "He was playing before you showed up. **Last name**."_

_"Oh…" Sakura answered, shrugging. "It's Uzuma—What? He was **playing** the piano?"_

_Sasuke nodded. "Very well," he added in a murmur to himself._

_ "Naruto! **Naruto** was playing the piano?" she repeated._

_Sasuke merely rolled his eyes, turning away and shaking his head. "**Forget **it, Sakura…I'll see you around." He heard her enter the office, and he turned for a moment to watch the door close behind her.  
_

**- Present -**

_So he **does** play piano_… Sakura thought. _For Sasuke to even inquire about Naruto…It must mean that Naruto has to have some skill…But I never would have **thought**…_

Tsunade sighed, taking the paper back from Sakura and pinching the bridge of her nose. _Does his guardian know about this? _she wondered. "If you were changing your major but remained in the field of fine arts, I would allow it," she said, waiting for Sakura to finish translating. "But you can't just switch into a music major. You need to have a date set for an audition review beforehand and the board has to review you, which takes a week alone before you get a response from them._ Then_ you have to play one of their selections to determine where you belong, which they give you only a week to practice. _That_ takes them another week to determine. It's not easy, Naruto! It's a long process, and that's why it's done over the summer!" She paused. "Besides…"

Naruto gritted his teeth, knowing what she was going to say just by her body language.

"Besides, Naruto, it's _music_, which requires…"

«Hearing isn't the issue for me!» Naruto signed violently, cutting her off.

"It _will _be!" Tsunade retorted after hearing Sakura translate Naruto's words. "Listen, what you are doing right now is good. It's not hard. It's _safe_—"

Naruto shook his head and tapped his finger pointedly on her desk. «I _want_ to do this! I'm sick of being _safe!_»

Sakura pulled on Naruto's arm, not repeating what he'd just said, "'Naruto, I think Tsunade is right. Art is something that you're good at. You should stick to it. I mean, you know, it's easy," she said reasonably.

Naruto faced Sakura. «I accepted my scholarship to this school because I _knew_ that it had one of the _top_ university musical programs in the _world_! You think I'm just doing this on a whim? You think I didn't do my homework? I love art, but I don't want to pursue it. I only used my scholarship to get here. _Now_ that I'm here, I'm doing what I really _want_ to do!»

Sakura blinked at his unmovable determination. _He's serious…_ When Tsunade asked her what he'd said and she translated for him, Tsunade shook her head.

"Does your_ guardian_, Jiraiya, know about this?" Tsunade asked pointedly.

Naruto hissed his teeth. «I'm fucking 18 years old! _I'm_ my guardian!» Sakura translated, censoring him.

"And what about a translator, Naruto?" Tsunade continued, holding her hand out to Sakura. "You were lucky that you have Sakura, who has the same first year classes as you! She's _volunteering _to help you. But there is no one in the music program that knows sign language!"

Naruto, having read her lips to a degree, didn't falter in his resolve. «I'll manage! I don't need anyone to speak to me about music! It's something I feel!»

"'Wait, Naruto! Hold on a second! You have to be more reasonable than that!'" Sakura said worriedly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. _Damn it! I hate it when people tell me to 'be kind to myself'!  
_

Tsunade merely shook her head and stood, holding the paper. She curled an eyebrow upward and looked pointedly at Naruto. "Come with me. You too, Sakura."

Naruto blinked, but did as told, slipping his folder into his backpack and following in step. He finally realized where they were going when they reached the music building, and he felt sudden dread. Tsunade walked to the dean's hall, deciding which office to go approach, and settled on one, knocking on the slightly ajar door. When she was given the okay to enter, she went right in with Naruto and Sakura in tow.

"Dean Orochimaru," she said, gaining the man's attention.

The pale dean looked up from his desk work, then propped his chin on his hands, smiling at them pleasantly. "Ah, Tsunade-san," he replied, pushing up his thin framed metal glasses. He was a tall and thin older man, and quite good-looking even at his older age. His long hair was pulled into a high pony-tail, a long clump of gray hair falling before his face. "To what do I owe this honor?" he asked in his coarse voice.

Tsunade placed that sheet of paper on his desk, then began, "I have a student here that wants to transfer into the music major. No matter what I tell him, I can't seem to convince him that the music program here is _beyond_ difficult, and that it's too late for him to apply."

Orochimaru took the 'major declaration' paper and glanced at it quickly before looking over to Naruto. "Well, Mr. Uzumaki," he began, putting the paper down. "It's unfortunate but true. You would have to wait a whole year to apply, since we only accept a limited number of students for the school year, not semester. Besides, it's _way_ past the application deadline."

Naruto glared, clenching his hands. _She fucking dragged me here just to let the **dean** tell me to my face._

"Also, you get a free ride at the school, don't you?" Orochimaru continued, glancing at the other sheet in his hand. "You wouldn't want to loose your scholarship by getting bad grades, would you?"

_He assumes that I'll do badly!_

Naruto made to respond, but a professor hastily waltzed into the room. "Dean Orochimaru, I wanted to give you the—oh dear! I'm so sorry, Dean Orochimaru! I didn't realize you were busy! Your door was open, so I was just…"

"It's alright Iruka," Orochimaru responded. "Is that the final program?"

Naruto recognized the professor instantly, unable to forget that brown, tied up puff of hair. Taking his chances (as he _was _an opportunist), he tapped the man on his shoulder, and Iruka whirled about.

"Yes? Oh! Oh _you_!" Iruka shouted in immediate recognition. "Ah…uh…Na…? Nabu—"

"It's Naruto…" Sakura interjected slowly.

"_That's_ it!" Iruka said, snapping his fingers. "What _program_ is he in?" he asked Sakura quickly. "I teach Piano and Early Music and work with the orchestras, but I haven't seen him around in any of the classes!"

Tsunade, slightly confused (as well as Orochimaru), responded, "Professor Iruka, Naruto is a graphic design major…"

_A graphic design major? _Iruka tilted his head in thought, putting his fist on his chin in clear confusion. "Seriously...? But I could've _sworn_…! Tch! That's such a _waste_!"

Orochimaru squinted at Iruka, his bewilderment deepening. "I'm confused…" he finally murmured. "Why a waste?"

"Oh, well…, I thought that Naruto was a music major," Iruka elaborated. "He was in here on Monday playing piano. Apparently someone left one of the doors open and he just waltzed right in a played. Surely he disturbed the orchestra practice, and I kicked him out, but when I really thought about it, this boy was _very good_! If you want proof you should just ask _Sasuke-kun_!"

_Hah. Victory is **mine!**_ Naruto couldn't hear, but he could_ definitely_ tell that whatever the professor had just said caused the few in the room to stop in silence. Each person had a bewildered expression. The blond had refrain from pumping his fist in victory. He watched in amusement instead, letting the chips fall where the may.

Iruka looked at Tsunade and Orochimaru in sudden bafflement and was struck with a thought. "Wait…, if he's a design major, what is he doing here?" he asked.

"Well, Uzumaki wants to switch to a music major," Orochimaru murmured, pushing up his glasses. "But I was just explaining to him why that will be impossible. For this year at least. Which makes me wonder…" He finally looked over at Sakura. "What do you have to do with this Miss…?"

"Ah! Haruno. Haruno Sakura," the strawberry-blonde declared.

"Yes, Haruno…Do you wish to change your major as well? Because the same applies to you, I'm afraid."

"Ah, no!" Sakura said, waving her hand in front of her face nervously. "I'm just Naruto's translator!"

"A translator…" Orochimaru nodded. _A foreigner_. He turned to Naruto and began, "Parlez-vous Français? Or English? You speak English? Sprechen wie Deutsch? Vy govorite po-Russki?"

Naruto blinked at Dean Orochimaru, not even _close_ to understanding what he said.

"Wait!" Iruka interjected. "He wants to change _majors_?" he asked excitedly. "Oh, Dean Orochimaru, I think you have to make an exception just this once and give him special permission to audition, _if _you don't mind my saying!"

Naruto was trying his best to read their lips, but he was quickly tiring of this. He felt like a bystander, and this _was_ about him! If he didn't speak up soon, he'd be lost. So, he clapped his hands twice, gaining everyone's attention, and pinched the bridge of his nose. «Okay_,_» he started. «I know I should have applied earlier, but I _didn't_. My fault, I understand. But could we get back to the issue…?»

Orochimaru blinked, then pointed at Sakura. "You're a _sign language_ translator…"

"Yes..." Sakura admitted with an affirmative nod, shrinking back.

Dean Orochimaru let out an amused, breathy chuckle, glancing at Naruto. "And you've been following this whole conversation…?" he asked Naruto, who nodded wavering his hand in a 'so-so' manner. He thought over it for a second before giving a nod himself. "Lip reading." Naruto nodded again. "Interesting…"

"Dean, if I may say so myself," Iruka began. "I think Naruto is a great pianist! I would certainly love to teach him myself!"

"But the audition..." Tsunade interjected.

"Well, if he is as good as Iruka says, I have to admit that I'm rather interested in finding out myself," Orochimaru murmured, looking at his daily planner.

_Me too!_ Sakura thought.

Orochimaru drummed his fingers against each other, pursing his lips in thought and looking pointedly at Naruto. "Huh," he began with a note of finality. "What time are your classes over on Monday and Friday?"

"Ah, 2:30," Sakura answered, adding defensively, "I have classes with him."

"This coming Monday at 4, you will audition in the concert hall to a piano song of _your_ choice in front of me, and professors Iruka, and Ibiki. Give me three copies of the sheet music no later than Saturday, either here or via email. Your audition can be no less than 3 minutes and cannot exceed 9 minutes. _If_ you judge well—which I fervently hope you do, as you wouldn't want to _waste our time, _no?_—_we'll give you a piece later _that same day_ to learn for that _Friday_ for 4 o'clock."

"What?" Iruka yelled. "But that'll only give him about 4 days to learn the music! He has classes!"

Orochimaru held up his hand to silence Iruka. "And…you'll perform it before the whole music department—students included. We'll judge you right after. Hit or miss."

Naruto could have sworn his jaw hit the floor. _What the fuck! Why all of this?  
_

"_What_?" was the unified cry from Tsunade, Iruka, and Sakura.

Orochimaru smiled innocently. "You didn't think I would make an exception for you without attaching some strings, did you…?" he asked in mocking tone. "Special permission doesn't necessarily equate to special _treatment_, Mr. Uzumaki. You should know that. If you're so determined to be in the music department, you should realize that you have to prove to your fellow schoolmates that you have some worth, and that is why we were able to make an exception for you." He paused and gave Naruto a dubious stare. "You look hesitant. Do you accept?"

Tsunade instantly objected. "You can't do that, Dean Orochimaru! That's unfair to Naruto!"

Naruto slammed his hand on the desk, looking down at the dean, and grinned. He rolled the words of the Dean in his mind. The man was indubitably challenging him. However, underlying that challenge, he could understand that the man was also giving him a chance to prove his worth to people who might otherwise judge him. He gave a solemn nod, his lip quirked. _Oh, I accept, bitch!_

Orochimaru smiled at Naruto, pushing up his glasses. "Well then, I'm glad you're up to the challenge. _Don't_ disappoint, please."

Naruto stood straight and crossed his arms.

Orochimaru nodded, then went about shifting the papers on his desk. He looked up seconds later, pushing up his glasses again and staring at everyone, three of whom were_ frozen_ in shock. He glowered. "What are you all still doing here? We're _done_, are we not?" he said emphatically, pointing to the door in a gentle but effective manner. "You stay, Professor Iruka. We never did finish talking."

Naruto was the first to leave, nodding affirmatively and appreciatively. He stomped his way out the room and through the hall, out the large building, and clear out the campus, his face stern and resolute. He walked huffily with the pomp and circumstance of a determined man for all of the half hour-or-so minutes it took him to get home, and he stomped right up the stairs to his apartment. He ripped out his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, wrenching it open and slamming it shut behind him, leaning weakly against it after he threw his backpack down. He felt light-headed.

Kiba walked out the kitchen curiously and nearly jumped back at seeing Naruto's demeanor. "'What the _fuck_ is up with your face, dude? What kind of expression is that!'"

Naruto glared at Kiba and then suddenly pumped his fists into the air victoriously (which actually _did_ make Kiba jerk back this time).

"Er…" Kiba scratched his cheek. He lowered his brows when Naruto suddenly danced in front of him, feet pattering on the hardwood floor. He laughed, eyebrows drawn in worry. "Are you on drugs?"

Naruto shook his head, still dancing. «Heck no, my man. Who needs drugs when you're so_ stoked_?»

"Oh, okay…" Kiba asked lifting and dropping his shoulders. "I take it you…talked to your advisor about your major?" Naruto sauntered up to Kiba and danced at him, his pelvis jerking suggestively. Kiba stepped back with a bark of laughter. "Back up, my friend! Save that for the ladies! But did you do it?" he asked excitedly.

«Fuck yes I did!» Naruto answered, wondering why he was suddenly feeling lightheaded as he slowed down.

"Well shit, Naruto! Finally!" Kiba yelled. "You stalled long enough on it! Naruto…? _My damn, _you don't look so hot…Naruto?"

Naruto stilled for a moment and then placed a hand against his forehead, swaying at his feet for a moment.

"Naruto! What the _fuck_, dude!" Kiba yelled, grabbing his friendbefore he hit the ground. "Shit! Shit!"

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**Comment**: For once, Orochimaru is not the bad guy. If there's one thing I noticed about him in the manga/anime, it's that he's very good with his words. He's creepy, but he's effective.

I know, I know: there **has** to be a bad guy, and don't worry, there **will** be.


	5. Part I: Poco a Poco

**Comment:** Guys, I'm really loving all the reviews that you're sending my way. Many of you are encouraging! Enjoy this chapter!

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Poco a Poco  
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Kiba rubbed his hand over his face again, sighing as he fidgeted at the edge of the seat in the clinic. He grunted impatiently, shaking his hands through his hair. When he'd caught Naruto earlier, the blond had shaken in his arms like a leaf and then stiffened quickly. It didn't seem right to him. Thankfully, his friend was conscious again before he had the chance to call the ambulance. Despite Naruto's slurred reassurances, he decided to visit a clinic as a precautionary measure. He genuinely worried for Naruto, knowing that in the last few years, Naruto was not one to voice his pains.

He stood up quickly, pacing back and forth worriedly. What if Naruto was sick! He hadn't noticed it before! _Oh my god, I really suck! _"Fuck!" he murmured, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. "You better not fucking die!"

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Naruto looked at Kiba curiously, tilting his head and blinking, and the doctor stood next to him, laughing. "Mr. Inuzuka?" the doctor asked.

Kiba sniffed and rubbed his nose. "Naruto…?"

«…Have you been crying, Kiba?» Naruto asked in shock, trying to suppress his humor.

"What! Psh, no!" Kiba retorted defensively. He looked at the doctor. "What happened?"

The doctor laughed softly, then patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Naruto seems to like visiting doctors. First he got into that little accident, then he—"

"He got into an accident?" Kiba turned to Naruto. "_You got into an accident_?"

Naruto grinned shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. «Oh yeah…_that_…»

"Oh, he was fine," the doctor said dismissively, looking at Naruto's charts. "The car that hit him probably had more damage than Naruto's body."

Kiba gaped at Naruto. "You were _hit_ by an _car?_! When were you planning on telling me this? Are you alright?"

«_Ob_viously…» Naruto signed, rolling his eyes when Kiba lifted his arms and turned him around to check for any wounds. He pushed the brunet away. «See, I didn't tell you because I knew you'd become a mother hen.»

"What? I'm no mother hen!" Kiba roared in anger, punching Naruto in the shoulder.

"Violence, Mr. Inuzuka. And volume," the doctor laughed. "And yes, you're very much so a mother hen. If not that then a worry-wart."

"Keh!" Kiba murmured, crossing his arms. He tapped his foot at the two of them, then asked impatiently, "So what happened?"

"Ah, Naruto was just suffering from a little anxiety, slight malnutrition, and dehydration. Nothing too severe that can't be fixed. Just drink plenty of water, get those electrolytes, and don't stress yourself out," the doctor said.

"Really?" Kiba asked. "That was it, seriously?" he repeated.

The doctor nodded, reading over Naruto's medical board. "That's it." He smiled.

"Are you _sure_?" Kiba pressed. "Like, _sure_, sure? 'Cause he looked pale when he passed out!"

"Do you _want_ something to be wrong with him?" the doctor asked smartly.

Kiba clucked his tongue at the doctor, grabbing Naruto by his sweater. "So we can go?" he asked hopefully.

"You can go. Just give this to the woman at the front desk," the doctor said, folding the board over his chest. "Well, have a good night, then!"

Kiba looked over at Naruto, who moseyed away from him shyly. "'You little butt-munch! Who told you to stress yourself out?'" he yelled.

"Please, Inuzuka-san. There are other people here," the doctor said from behind them.

"Ah, right, right! Sorry!" Kiba retorted with the bow of his head, grabbing Naruto again and stomping to the front desk.

After getting out of the taxi, Naruto tiredly walked toward his apartment with a grumbling Kiba following in tow. "You should help me, Naruto," he hissed at Naruto's back.

As if he'd heard Kiba, Naruto turned around instinctively and just shook his head pitifully at his friend. «I don't understand why you bought all those bottles of water, Kiba…» he said slowly.

"Yeah, well the doctor fucking said to drink plenty of water with electrolytes, you ass! So we had to buy it!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, shrugging. «Whatever, it came out of your pocket.»

"Help me, Naruto! I can't carry two cases of water myself!" he yelled, his face smashed against the containers.

«But I'm _tired_. And it'll _stress me out_. Doctor said no stress, remember? You don't want me to pass out again, do you?» Naruto asked, grinning.

"Oh,_ fuck_ you, man. That was _cold_. You're a bad, _bad_ friend. Bad friend award!"

Naruto chuckled quietly, alleviating Kiba of one of the cases. "Eh! Thank you!" Kiba yelled as they neared the stairs. "Why the fuck don't they have an elevator here!" he asked in aggravation. When they reached the fifth floor and then the apartment, Kiba was near out of breath as well as Naruto. They leaned against the door, and Naruto shakily opened the door (_Nice going, Kiba, you forgot to lock the door!_), sliding the water inside. "Oh, good idea," Kiba murmured to himself, doing the same. He followed Naruto in his kitchen then cracked his back, standing.

Naruto hit him in his arm distractedly.

"What?" Kiba asked.

Naruto pointed to the middle of the salon from the opening in the kitchen. «Are we in the right apartment? I think we went a flight too high…?» he said, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

"No. Why?" Kiba looked over to the salon, trying not to grin.

«Was that there before…?» Naruto asked, walking slowly out of the kitchen.

"What, that Grande piano?" Kiba asked with a grin, pointing to the corner of the room.

«Oh no you did _not_, Kiba!» Naruto signed quickly, shuffling out of the kitchen and sliding to a stop (they'd kicked off their sneakers as they'd entered) in front of the Grande.

"'Oh, I think I _did_,'" Kiba retorted after walking up to Naruto.

Naruto pointed at the piano, then at Kiba. «How the hell! This is_ expensive_!» he signed quickly, running his hands over the mahogany lacquer finish. It was a _gorgeous _piano_._

Kiba shrugged. His parents _were _rich. He may have left his home, but he have never said he left without some dowry. "'It's just a gift,'" he said, scratching his sideburn shyly. "'You know, so you can play, or something.'"

Naruto smiled at Kiba, turning to the piano again when Kiba pointed to it. He opened the flap just to _stare_ at the keys, and picked up a small note that was resting on top of them. It read, 'Go for it, Naruto!' He grinned. Kiba really _was_ his best friend. He worried about him so much. He ran over to Kiba and jumped on him.

Kiba pushed Naruto away and clamped his hand over his shoulder. "So tell me what happened, dude," he said when Naruto finally looked up at him. "At school." Naruto sighed, sitting on the couch. Kiba sat at the other end of the couch and faced Naruto. "Spill!"

«Ah, fine!» Naruto signed. Of course, he _had_ to start with what had happened on his first day of his classes, and how if it hadn't been for Professor Iruka, he really wouldn't have had a chance to do the audition.

"So they're letting you do the audition!" Kiba asked after an explanation.

Naruto nodded gratefully. «Yeah, I have to select a song soon and email it or bring it to the dean by Saturday.»

"That's the day after tomorrow, Naruto!" Kiba yelled.

«Yeah, but I don't have to do the audition until Monday, so that'll give me time to practice the music over the weekend,» Naruto reasoned. «Anyway, if I judge well…I have to perform one of their selected songs by next _Friday_!»

"What the fuck, man!" Kiba groaned, kicking his foot at an imaginary 'Dean Orochimaru', or whatever the name of that man was. "That's way too soon! That's not giving you the 'week' that other people auditioning had! At least they had the weekend, _and_ it was summer!"

«I know, it's a little messed up, but I don't mind it that much,» Naruto agreed. «But that's not it…»

"What the hell, there's more!" Kiba asked. "This is like a drama!" (1)

Naruto nodded gravely. «…I have to perform their song selection in front of the _whole_ music department. Students, staff, and all. That's not something they usually do.»

"_What?_" Kiba yelled, sitting straight. "Wait, _what!_" he asked. "I don't remember that being a part of the fucking audition!" He stood up, ready to put his sweater back on. "Where does that fucking ass live? I'll beat the _shit _out of him, seriously! Murder in the first!" (2)

Naruto pulled him down to the couch. «Sit your ass down, dog-breath!» he signed when the brunet plopped onto the couch angrily. «I accepted the challenge. I may not _like_ it that much, but what can I do? If I didn't accept it, he would have probably not let me audition…I think he's testing my worth, anyway. Which I don't mind very much. That's what I'm trying to prove, right?»

"_I'll_ show him a _test_. I'll test the pressure of my _fist_ on his _face_!" he murmured, cracking his knuckles. Naruto chuckled.

«So…do you think you can make my auditions…?» Naruto asked hopefully.

Kiba grimaced slightly, thinking of his work and school schedule for next week. "Dude, I'm gonna be honest. I don't think I can make it on Monday," he said, and Naruto's shoulders slumped. "But I can make it to the one on Friday. I _have_ to go to that one." Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "So…" he began, testing the waters. "…Have you told Jiraiya yet…?" he asked. "Like, have you sent him a letter or something?"

Naruto dropped his head back, smacking his forehead. _I forgot! _He looked back up at Kiba and twisted away just in time to miss another one of the brunet's kicks. «Seriously, I just forgot, Kiba! It's not like I'm not gonna tell him! You can watch me write the letter tonight if you want!»

Kiba rolled his eyes. "'Please, the only thing I'm gonna watch right now is _television_.'"

Naruto grinned and flipped off the couch agilely when Kiba leaned toward the television and turned it on. He headed to the corner of the room, wondering if Akamaru had finally gone deaf from all of Kiba's yelling. The fox hadn't stirred a single bit. He picked it up, and it yawned and nipped at his hand. He placed it on his lap as he reached over and opened the boxes that he hadn't unpacked yet, namely the ones that he knew had his music books in them.

He flipped through one book and another, disinterested with wanting to audition with Bach, as those were too romantic, or Mozart, which was so typical of auditions, or even Beethoven, since he didn't really like that composer that much (the whole deafness comparison sort of grated his nerves). He looked through his other books. Brahms was also too romantic. Handel's piano pieces were beautiful, but too slow and romantic. Not that he didn't like the romantic piano. He just wanted something _interesting._ Holst was okay, but no. Elgar was interesting, but he was limited. Chopin was okay. Mahlor, no. Vivaldi, no.

_Ah_. Edward MacDowell. Oh yes indeed. He'd just found his composer. Edward MacDowell was awesome.

After taking what was more than half an hour (as he looked over the sheet music, seeing how difficult the pieces were), he decided which pieces he wanted to play, all excerpts from the 51st Opus. He looked at his watch quickly, saw that it was only a little after 8, and decided that he should play.

He pulled out the bench, set the music book on the music ledge, and began playing.

Kiba sighed in exasperation, shutting off the television instantly. Akamaru yipped, jumping up from shock, and growled before he settled down again. Kiba walked into the bedroom for a minute before he came back out with a video game consul, plugging it into the television. An hour and a half later, when Naruto felt it too late to play piano, as he _was_ in an apartment complex, he decided to play video games with Kiba. When they waited for the screen to load, Kiba turned to Naruto. "'So how is job searching going?'" he asked.

Naruto pouted, slumping his shoulders. «They keep giving the lame excuse, 'We already have enough employees,' or 'We're not hiring right now,' or 'We don't hire college students because their schedules change too often.' They can just say, 'No, I won't hire you because you're deaf'. Fuckers.»

Kiba shrugged. He clapped Naruto on the back. "'Dude, buck up!'" he said encouragingly. Naruto chuckled. "'Those people are just boobs.'"

«And that Akamichiraku owner hasn't called me back yet…» Naruto said. «Curse him!» he said, shaking his fist.

"'Whatever, dude. Just keep looking. You'll get _something_,'" Kiba said before turning back to the screen. He took advantage of Naruto's distractedness and attacked him in the fighting game.

Naruto gasped and glared at Kiba.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Jiraiya groggily, walked toward his mailbox, rubbing his eyes and groaning out in protest of the sunlight. He'd just gotten back home last night from a business trip (_and_ vacation) to Okinawa, and he'd been way too tired to get his mail. His mailbox, if it were made of fabric, would be _tearing_ at the seams. He grabbed all the mail, having to hold it in his t-shirt so they wouldn't spill out of his grasp. Ugh. He _hated_ newspapers and those**_ stupid_** shopping coupon booklets. He passed his garbage and threw the unneeded ones in there as he headed inside.

"Phone bill. Electrical bill. Hh, car bill. Insurance. Gas bill. Water and sewage. Check, yes! Another check! Yes!" He sat in the kitchen, throwing all his mail onto the table and sorting through junk mail and real mail. "Retiring soon? No way, my friend. This old chap is here to stay," he murmured, throwing away that mail. "No, I don't want to take a vacation to Alaska? Who lives there? Garbage." He threw it away "Invitation…" he said, slightly interested. He rolled his eyes halfway through reading it. "Pah! Cancer Seminar." He picked up a small envelope.

_Naruto mailed me!_ he thought, slicing the mail open and reading it.

_Dear Jiraiya,_

_How was __Okinawa__? You think they're gonna buy your newest novel? I don't think so. It was full of crap!_

_Seriously! _(Jiraiya grinned.)

_How is it not having me around? I know you like your freedom. Well, I like my freedom too. No curfews, no bad cooking, and no old perverts! Kiba is living with me now, since, you know…his dad is a complete ass. But you don't have to tell his father that I said that. I'm sure he hates me enough. Anyway, so, just as you feared, the two of us have been having wild, untamed gay sex with each other. _(Ah, did his heart just skip a beat!)

_That was a joke. Don't have an aneurism._

_It's very nice having my own watch dog around, aside from Akamaru, that is._

…_Uh. I have something very important that I need to tell you, though._

Jiraiya dropped his head, moaning. "Oh God, what is it?" he asked himself. "Did he spend all his money? Did someone kidnap him? Did he get kicked out of school?" He peaked at the letter.

_It's about school._

"Nonono!" Jiraiya yelled, stomping his feet childishly before continuing with the letter.

_I decided to change my major. I wanted to do this before I entered into the school, but I didn't want you to know about it. I wanted to do this for myself. I wanted to make the decision on my own and deal with the consequences myself. I want to let you know that I thought about this for almost a year, so it's not just something random I decided. I know that if I told you about it and if I entered my school with the major that I'm changing into, you wouldn't allow it._

_You know I love art. It was something that I was very good at. But my heart has always been in music. Actually, you know, all those times that I came home late from school when I was in high school, it wasn't because of track. I was playing piano after track._

Of course he knew that Naruto was playing music at those times. The blond certainly didn't have to hide it, but if he felt the need to do so, Jiraiya wasn't one to stop him.

_I'm changing my major to music. This coming Monday, I have an audition with two deans and a professor. If I do well, I'll have another audition on Friday. They're giving me a chance to audition even though the application deadline has been closed off for a while._

_I would love it if you could make it to my audition on Friday, Jiraiya. I want you to be there more than anyone. I want your support more than anyone. My parents wouldn't have it any other way, I know._

_If you're coming, please write to me or text me and let me know._

_Naruto_

Jiraiya crumpled the letter in his hand, slamming his fist into the table. Well fuck.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Monday came far too soon for Naruto. Naruto kept glancing at the clock in the classroom, his legs shaking under the desk. Ah, sometimes Kakashi talked too much! The tall teacher paced the room, giving his lesson, and Sakura sat next to Naruto, barely able to concentrate.

_She_ was nervous for Naruto! She jumped up when Kakashi slapped his hand on the desk. "Class dismissed! Go and be free!" he said. The students left quickly, but Naruto completely lagged behind, so the professor walked up to the two. "Well I'm glad to see that the two of you aren't running out of here like last time," he said to Sakura. "Is my teaching that bad?"

"Ah, I'm sorry about that Kakashi…" Sakura murmured tiredly.

"I hear that you'll be doing something later on?" the professor asked Sakura. "Well, Naruto, that is." He ammended, looking at the blond. Naruto nodded at Kakashi, and the teacher looked at him pointedly. "Are you a lip reader?" he asked. Naruto nodded again. "That's what Iruka told me…" he said.

"You know Professor Iruka, Kakashi?" Sakura asked.

"Well I'm new here this year," Kakashi said. "But I was in the lunch office with a few other professors, and Iruka was just—well, the guy has verbal diarrhea. He doesn't stop talking sometimes," he murmured.

Naruto snickered.

"So, I heard that you're trying to switch to a music major, Naruto," Kakashi said smartly, leaning back on the desk. Naruto nodded. "Good luck with your audition. You're lucky that you even _got_ one. I mean, I hear that they're rather hard on you. Iruka told me that he didn't even make it past the first audition the first time he applied. He took a whole year of required graduation classes before he reapplied the next year. Naruto? You don't look so good. You look like you're gonna—"

Naruto bolted out of the classroom with his hand over his mouth, running to the nearest bathroom.

"That was horrible, Kakashi!" Sakura said to the professor, trying not to laugh.

Kakashi chuckled. "All in a day's work, Sakura. All in a day's work. Go."

Sakura walked out the room.

When they reached the student café, Naruto had regained his colour. He sat at the table with Sakura, who ordered lo-mein, and looked over his music notes again. For every minute that passed, he grew tenser. He felt the table shift, and thinking it was Sakura, looked up to start asking her a question.

Oh. The Blonde Bitch.

Ino looked at Naruto, nearly cringing from his glare. "I'm sorry about last week. It was rude," Ino said slowly so that Naruto could read her lips. "Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth."

Naruto chuckled at that, then nodded at her. Sakura sat next to her if not a second later. "You two lovebirds got over your fight from last week?" she asked.

Ino blushed, waving her hand in dismissal and Sakura. "We're not lovebirds," she said shyly, blinking at Naruto suggestively.

Sakura offered some of her food to the both of them, and Ino gladly accepted. Naruto hissed and crossed his fingers like it was the_ devil_. «If I eat something, I think I'll puke at my audition…»

"What did he say?" Ino whispered slyly to Sakura between bites.

"He said he'd puke if he ate something."

"Why?"

"He has an audition today."

Ino coughed instantly, looking at Naruto, then at Sakura again. "A_ music_ audition?" she asked, covering her mouth as she swallowed. "Aren't those over since like last month!" she asked. "And aren't you…erm…"

Naruto glared at Ino, daring her to continue the statement. He stood up, though, hands shaking. «Sakura, I'm totally skipping next class. I think I'm gonna have a heart attack if I have to sit through another lecture.»

Sakura smiled. "'Okay, then, Naruto. I'll meet you at Dean Orochimaru's office around 3:50, okay?'" she asked.

Naruto nodded and turned around, walking toward the music campus. He _did_ like walking there, because there was a little division between it and the main campus building—a long hallway surrounded with windows—and he stopped and stared at the greenery outside for a moment, relishing in the way the wind blew the trees and grass on such a warm spring day. After a minute or so, he continued walking to the building.

Ah, where was he going to go? All the classrooms and practice rooms were locked, right? Oh no! He wasn't going to get time to practice before the audition! His bladder filled up and he thought he had to puke again, and he ran toward the nearest bathroom, propping his backpack on the door hanger, and letting go after he unzipped his pants. He sighed from the relief, closing his eyes as he let his worry pour out. He zipped up and, definitely feeling that he was gonna puke again, went to a stall and bent over the toilette bowl. He took some toilette paper and wiped his mouth before exiting the stall, jumping back when he saw a guy (_Sa…Sasuke was it?_) staring at him at him in slight disgust. Naruto pouted, rubbing his stomach again, suppressing an inaudible groan. He went to wash his hands and rinsed his mouth. He turned to walk out the bathroom, but stopped short, looking at his watch. That Sasuke was in that orchestra with Iruka, if he remembered correctly, so…

He turned back to Sasuke, who'd started washing his hands, and tapped him on the shoulder.

Sasuke stood straight and faced Naruto and stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Oh great. _He_ didn't know sign language, and he wasn't about to act like he did with obscure hand gestures. "What?" he asked.

Naruto bit at his lip, shutting his eyes for a second, then, pretending he was playing the piano, looked up at the raven questioningly.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. Wasn't he doing an audition today with Orochimaru, Ibiki, and Iruka? _Maybe_ he wanted to use one of the rooms…? All the doors must be locked still, and he didn't have a key. Oh. He got it. But he really wasn't in the mood for making ambiguous hand motions that the blond probably wouldn't understand, and he certainly wasn't going to look like a fool in front of_ anyone_, so he just walked past the Naruto and stepped out the bathroom, tilting his chin in a way that told the blond to follow him.

Naruto stared at him, wondering if Sasuke even understood him, but followed him silently (as if he could do it any other way) until they reached the orchestra practice room.

Sasuke peeked inside the window then opened the door. He stepped inside, but before Naruto could follow him in, he held up a finger (obviously telling Naruto to wait, which the blond did obediently, staring in from the window), and he walked up to Iruka, who was finally telling the violas that they sounded _good_. Good thing too, seeing that the concert was in two days.

Really, the violas had the richest sound.

Sasuke had to remember himself (as he was just standing there, listening to the music) before he whispered to Iruka if he could borrow his key for a second.

"Ah, why?" Iruka asked distractedly as he continued tapping his feet and waving his hands.

"That guy wants to use one of the practice rooms," Sasuke answered, pushing his hair out of his face, looking at the door and seeing the blond peeking in with his curious blue eyes. When Iruka nodded, he went for the professor's bag, shuffled through it, and took the keys, walking out the door.

Naruto nearly clapped at Sasuke when he saw the keys in the raven's hand (_Sweet!_), but followed him to the practice-room instead. _Ah, no, not that room! That's the one with the out-of-tune piano. That note feels so weird under my fingers!_ he thought in dread as Sasuke unlocked the same room that Naruto had used last Monday.

Sasuke let Naruto inside, staring down at him slightly. Naruto moped toward the piano and pressed the note that was out of tune. To his surprise, the key felt normal like the rest of the other keys, and he looked at Sasuke in wonder.

Before he could stop himself, Sasuke murmured, "They fixed it." He held back the _need_ to smack himself. Deaf, right. Can't hear, of course.

Naruto smiled, settled down his backpack, and bowed his head slightly at Sasuke. Honestly, he didn't want to play the piano right now. He just…he needed to be with a piano. In the same room. And bask in the aura…of piano… He sighed, sitting at the bench anyway.

Sasuke blinked at Naruto, turned about, and walked out the room, closing it _shut_ behind him and walking back to the orchestra room…He had heard from Iruka (as the teacher just _couldn't stop talking about it!_) that Naruto was going to have an audition review today, which at first irritated him. There were tons of students who didn't even get the chance to audition because they had applied too late. Naruto deserved the same punishment as they.

At the same time, though, after hearing Naruto play last week, he felt that Naruto—deaf or _not—_was definitely decent enough to get special permission. Maybe he would go to the audition on Friday (as there was no doubt in his mind that they were going to let Naruto continue with his audition).

He sighed. Damn music. It was so good to him. But he hated it so much.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto lifted his head groggily. He blinked repeatedly then rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. _I fell asleep…?_ he wondered.

_Where am I? _he thought. _What day is it? _He lifted himself up from his hunched position. Piano? Oh. He fell asleep slumped over a piano. Huh. Wait.

Piano.

Audition.

_Fuck!_ He looked down at his watch and his eyes bugged out. **_Fuck! _**He stood up quickly shuffling about. It was three fucking fifty-three and his audition was in seven minutes! Ah, he could _cry_. He hadn't practiced at _all_! Okay, maybe ten minutes, but that's nothing! He ran over and picked up his backpack, swinging the door open (and made sure it closed and locked behind him).

Sakura was probably waiting for him at Orochimaru's office! She was probably worried. He ran toward the office, then stopped and turned about, bowling his way into the nearest men's bathroom, and splashed his face with cold water, slapping his wet cheeks until they stung._ Why did I fall asleep! Why, why, why! I hate myself! God, I suck! _he thought, near tears as he ran toward the office again. By the time he reached the office, he'd probably glanced at his watch 20 times, and he was about to have a heart attack because he hadn't remembered the way for some reason!

Naruto opened the door quickly (and rudely, not even knocking) and saw Orochimaru sitting at his desk with Sakura sitting in a waiting chair, an older, well-toned, bald man leaning against the bookshelf with his arms crossed impatiently (whom he supposed was Ibiki), and Iruka pacing the room back and forth.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, standing up. "Naruto, I was really worried! It's—" she glanced at her watch, "It's 3:58! Where were you?" Naruto signed to Sakura quickly, red-faced. He then slowly turned to the three men innocently, literally praying for their forgiveness. Iruka laughed. He then turned to ask Sakura what Naruto had said. "Ah, he said that he had fallen asleep in the practice room, and forgotten his way here."

Orochimaru stood up at the desk, gathering the sheets of music that Naruto had given him on Friday into a file and placing it on his laptop. "Well then, we should go," he murmured, looking at his watch. "Iruka, please don't forget the camera." He was unamused with Naruto's antics.

Naruto stopped Sakura. «Camera!» he signed. «Why do they need a camera?»

Sakura looked over at the two teachers, and started, "Ano, Iruka-sensei…out of curiosity, why do you need a camera, Naruto would like to know…?"

Ibiki, the bald teacher, cleared his throat, pushing himself off from the bookshelf, then stepped forward. "Does it intimidate you?" he asked in a deep, booming voice that Naruto could _feel_ (the two stepped back). "There's no need to be intimidated. We record your audition for the _records_ first of all. Then we review and watch for your technique and skill, and lastly we record you so we can catch all the _little_ mistakes that you're _most likely_ going to make."

Naruto's jaw hung loose. That did _nothing_ to boost his confidence.

"Should we go, then?" Ibiki asked pleasantly.

Naruto breathed out shakily, and Sakura patted his shoulder. They followed the two professors out the office, through the halls, and outside. Naruto wondered slightly where they were going, but realized belatedly that they were headed to the concert hall. His stomach did a flip-flop when they walked inside the large building.

When they reached the main auditorium hall, Naruto thought he would die. It was _gigantic_. He was going to have to do this on _Friday_ with tons of people watching? He emotions at that moment began to vacillate between dread and childish excitement. A few of the lights were already turned on, illuminating for the first few rows and the stage. They took the long walk down the auditorium, passing the seats, and stopped in the front, where Orochimaru took his seat next to Ibiki. A table was set up in front of them.

Sakura sat a couple of rows back, as she didn't want to encroach on the affair.

The second Naruto looked up at the piano on the stage, he felt light headed, but this time he didn't feel the need to vomit. He looked over at the three men then glanced up at Iruka, who walked up the stairs to the stage and set up the camera only two meters or so from the piano. He positioned the camera on the tripod so that it would be at an angle where it would see all the keys, bent over slightly to look into the lens for a short moment, and then stood straight.

"Okay, everything is ready," Iruka said to the four down below. He turned to Naruto. "Okay, please come up," he said gently.

Naruto, still stiff, nodded weakly at Iruka, then walked up the stairs, thanking all things good and holy that he didn't trip while he was walking up. He breathed in deeply, staring at the piano as he walked toward it. He could have sworn that it was laughing at him. It was mocking him, with it's devilish, white teeth.

"_Music won't be the same anymore, Naruto. Not for you. You won't be able to play the same way again."_

Every step he took was like someone was pounding him into the earth. He could feel the hollow stage vibrating under him.

"_You won't be able to walk again, Naruto. Ever."_

He was doing this.

"_I hear he's gone deaf!"_

He breathed in deeply.

"_Naruto, you were the only one that survived. I'm sorry."_

He sat at the bench when Iruka directed him to do so.

"_Life is going to be difficult from now on."_

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Naruto looked at the teacher, who smiled down at him reassuringly with his hand on his shoulder. Somehow, he could tell that he had the full support of this particular professor. Between Iruka's actions last week and his actions at the very moment, Naruto felt at ease with his gentle demeanor. He could feel the genuineness of his actions and fully appreciated the man's help, if not confirmed by the gentle squeeze on his shoulder. He didn't know how, but he could tell that Iruka was whispering to him, not speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Don't worry about what Ibiki said," Iruka began clearly, blinking at Naruto. "You'll do fine. Keep your eyes on us while I go and sit. Orochimaru will queue you to start when he gives you a nod. Did you understand me?" Naruto breathed out quickly then nodded. "Okay, then. Good luck, Naruto," Iruka said, patting Naruto before he pulled away. He pressed the record button on the camera, walked around it so that he didn't block its target, walked down the steps, and sat at his seat next to Ibiki. He heaved in a large breath and breathed it out slowly.

"He's not using the sheet music…?" Ibiki murmured, looking over wide-eyed at Orochimaru as he glanced at the sheet music in front of him.

"I suppose not," the Dean whispered. "He's either very confident or very stupid."

_I think he's both, _Sakura thought, listening in on the men in front.

"He's playing pieces from MacDowell's Opus 51. MacDowell's a very, very efficient pianist. This kid better be as good as you say, Iruka," Ibiki said, staring at the music sheet. "Or he'll ruin really good music."

Iruka shrugged his shoulders. Resting his hand on top of the sheet music, he looked up. "Uzumaki Naruto. Date: April 14th, 2008." It was loud enough for the camera to pick up.

Orochimaru stared at the blond for a few seconds and then gave a solemn nod.

Naruto's heart pounded in his chest. He nodded back at the three and turned to the piano. He breathed in deeply, lifting his hands and placing them over the keys.

This was it.

The song started slowly, but after the fourth measure, the tempo doubled, and his fingers moved quickly and agilely over the keys.

He played the fast-paced songs very energetically and slightly unconventionally, moving wildly about over the keys. But he didn't miss a note. He bobbed his head. He slammed on some keys. He bent closer to the piano when he hit the many higher notes. His fingers moved so quickly and efficiently.

When the music dropped in tempo, it was refreshing, and a pair of eyes closed. The slow ballads were played so beautifully. A bit strangely...but beautiful, nonetheless.

This kid _was_ good.

Listening to him and watching him play was like watching an opera. He was so expressive with the way he would furl his brows, or bob his head in tune with the music, or the way his head even dropped back as he stared at the high ceiling quickly. He definitely took an artistic freedom to the song, and it was interesting.

When the music finally picked up in tempo again in the finale and reached those _high_ notes, it felt like he'd reached the end. He nodded his head emphatically, beating down on the low notes over and over, and then ended the last chords in rubato with the damper pedal.

Naruto sat still, with his fingers still over the keys, and slowly dropped his hands into his laps.

Sakura jumped up from her seat, wide-eyed, and clapped loudly. "Yay! Naruto! _Encore!_" she yelled, cheering over and over.

_I did it…_ Naruto thought, staring at the piano. _I really did it…_

Orochimaru glared at Sakura and whispered to Iruka to turn of the camera quickly. Iruka ran up to the stage and turned the camera off and pulled out the memory card. He walked over to Naruto and put his hand on the blonde's shoulder to lead him off the stage. No matter how well he felt Naruto played (and he was _blown away_, mind you), he had to remain professional for the moment, otherwise, he'd be right along with Sakura, clapping and cheering.

"Sakura, if you could please step out with Naruto, it would be appreciated," Iruka said as he walked toward Orochimaru and Ibiki. "We'll call you back in about half an hour."

"Yes!" Sakura said quickly. She pulled Naruto (who was really _not_ back on earth yet) by his arm. «Naruto, that was _great_!» she signed as they left the auditorium. She made sure the door was closed, then sat at the chairs outside the auditorium. Naruto vaguely realized that they weren't in the concert hall anymore. «Hey! I didn't know you could play so well!» Sakura smacked him in his arm.

«Why are we out here?» he asked, blinking.

"'I think they're going to review the video,'" Sakura answered, sitting back. "Naruto, I'm just so _shocked_! Like, I seriously didn't expect you to play so well!"

Naruto nodded numbly, turning to the double doors, waiting for his fate to change. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving in its wake a pending sense of inquietude. His mind began to fuss over every mistake that he might have made. He knew he wasn't a professional, but he hoped that what he did was adequate enough to qualify him for the next audition.

When a little over half an hour had passed and the double doors _did_ open, Naruto tensely looked up at Iruka's stern, solemn face, and his heart dropped. The professor looked somewhat tired, trying to smile.

"We've looked over the video a few times…" Iruka murmured gravely, shaking his head. "We found some issues…Come back inside, and we'll talk."

**.**

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**(1) "This is like a drama!": Japanese dramas. Watch 'em. They'll change your LIFE.**

**(2) As in, 'Murder in the first degree!'  
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**Comment:**If you would like to know what Edward MacDowell's 51st Opus sounds like, visit: jhiller .. edu slash macdowell dot html. Specifically listen to Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 of the 51st opus, since those were the pieces I imagined Naruto playing. Also, Naruto's opinion about the composers mentioned in this chapter are NOT my opinion about them. I certainly love all of those composers. Naruto has room for grown and improvement.


	6. Part I: Dolce

**Comment:** Please enjoy this chapter, and thank you for your reviews! When nearing the middle of the chapter, when Naruto is going through his second audition, if you would like please, please consider listening to this piece: youtube. com/ watch?v=uf7p-vhdhZA

It is what I imagined him to be playing.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Dolce**

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Naruto trudged toward his apartment tiredly, shoulders slumped and fingers slipped through the rings of his backpack straps. He was near tears; he could feel the heat pooling at his ears, nose, and collecting at the corner of his eyes. As he reached for the knob and twisted it, he heaved a large sigh, knowing Kiba to be the type that didn't lock his door unless he was out or sleeping. Hopefully he was home.

At a crucial time as this, having someone to confer to was needed. Naruto's world was shaken, and he needed solid foundation.

The slowly opened the door, walked in, and leaned against it after he set down his backpack. He slid down the door until his posterior touched the floor, staring into the salon lifelessly. Akamaru whined and yowled and sauntered lightly over to Naruto, licking his hand and beating his little paws against the flooring.

Kiba came out the bedroom, pulling his t-shirt over his head and murmured, "Akamaru, what are you yapping about? Wanna go for a—oh, Naruto! When did you get back?"

Naruto barely noticed Kiba. He continued to stare out to the salon at his piano, eyebrows turning upward.

Kiba bent in front of the unresponsive blond. He knew that face. He knew those eyes. What he saw right now was the exhumation of emotions that were buried in a deep place many years ago. When Naruto retreated like this, it was because he couldn't properly convey his emotions outwardly. "Naruto…? Damn it," he cursed when the blond didn't respond. _This is a bad sign. F__uck_. "'What happened, Naruto?'" he asked, tapping Naruto on the cheek lightly before shaking him quickly.

Kiba was feeling desperate now. Should he contact Jiraiya? No, he couldn't. It was time that he begin thinking things through maturely instead of always relying on Jiraiya to fix this issue. "'They didn't—you didn't—'" He gasped when Naruto leaned into him, his face turning redder. The blond sniffled and shook. Akamaru ambled out from between them and yowled again when the blond began to shiver, grabbing onto Kiba's t-shirt tightly. "Fuck…" Kiba mumbled. _He didn't make it…_

A mere minute later, Naruto pulled away from Kiba, covering his face with his hand. Kiba dropped his hand on Naruto's wild hair, shaking the blonde's head gently. Hey, you tried, right…?" he asked shakily. "'You can try again for next year…'" But Naruto shook his head, wiping his eyes as he breathed in unsteadily. "'Hey, don't give up so easily, man, fuck,'" Kiba said reasonably. "'It'll only be a year. You just have to make a kick ass comeback.'" Something in him pinched. Naruto had wanted this so badly. Even with his encouraging words, he'd wanted this badly for Naruto too.

«It's not that…» Naruto signed slowly.

"Huh?"

«It's just that…nothing felt better than that…» the blond finished. Kiba blinked at him. «I felt like I could hear every sound, Kiba. And…I don't know…» he paused, sighing. «I want to play more than ever now. For myself.»

"Then fuck them!" Kiba said. "'Go to America and get into _fucking_ Julliard or something!'"

«Why…? I don't want that.» _Although that'd be nice..._

Kiba grimaced. Was Naruto giving up? "'Well these bastards just blew you off, right?'" he asked.

Naruto suddenly grinned at the brunet, and Kiba's face dropped instantly. «Whoever said that?» he signed. «Dude, I think they wanted to have my babies. They loved me.»

"…What…?" Kiba hissed. Naruto shook, thinking perhaps that he shouldn't have toyed with Kiba's emotions. "'What the _fuck_, Naruto! You made me think that you didn't pass the _fucking_ audition!'" Kiba roared, socking Naruto in the arm twice.

Naruto shrank away from him. «But you assumed that yourself!» He winced again when Kiba punched him. Admittedly, he was overwhelmed with soaring emotions. For a while he had to internalize them.

"'Fuck you, man! Don't joke around with me like that!'" Kiba yelled.

«I couldn't help it!» Naruto signed defensively. «Besides, they sort of gave me bad news!» Kiba glared at Naruto, then darkly asked him what it was, as if saying that it better be a good reason. Naruto reached for his backpack and pulled out a large yellow envelope, pouting. «Look who they gave me to practice for Friday!»

Kiba, still genuinely angry, grabbed the folder from Naruto, opened it, and pulled out the thin music book that was inside. "_Beethoven?_" Naruto nodded with a pout. "'And? What's wrong with that?'" Kiba asked. He thought about it for a second and his reasoning kicked in. "Oh." Naruto wasn't so fixed about Beethoven. He knew that the blond hated being put in the same category as him because he was deaf. "'Well that's what you _get_, asshole!'" he shouted, clouting Naruto on the head with the music book before he stood up and turned about quickly. He sat at the couch huffily, grabbing the game consul and turning on his game player.

Naruto stoop up as Akamaru circled him and clapped his hands. Kiba looked over to him, shouting out an angry "What?" Naruto pouted. «You're not _happy_ for me…?» the blond asked, sticking out his bottom lip dramatically as he tilted his head.

"Keh!" Kiba replied, gesturing Naruto rudely as he turned away and flipped the television on. He heard Naruto drag his feet over to him and turned around only when he felt the blond looming over him. He hissed his teeth at the blond. "'Go away! I can't even look at you right now! What kind of friend are you to lie to me like that?'" Naruto pouted deeper, furling his yellow eyebrows at Kiba. Naruto leaned toward him, looking down at him and widening his eyes for extra effect.

Kiba steeled his resolve and turned to the blond. Sticking his middle finger up at the blond, he then used the same finger, pressed it against Naruto's forehead, and pushed him away in a rather vicious manner. "'You're trying my patience! I hate you right about now! Make yourself useful and go practice!'" the brunet groused as he leaned away from the pressing blond.

Naruto pulled away from him and slumped his shoulders, dropping his head dejectedly and walking over to the piano with a _very_ audible, guilt-inducing sniffle. He didn't see Kiba turned back for a second, watching the blond closely and grinning. He sat at the piano, pulled open the flap, and stopped short when he saw a note lying on the keys. He picked it up and read it, knowing it to be Kiba's handwriting.

'Dude, I know you did well, so even if you tried, your tricks won't work on me, bitch,' the note read. Naruto stiffened and his jaw hung loose. He flipped the note over. 'Haha, who got who, sucker!' He promptly jumped to the couch and punched Kiba from behind.

Kiba yelped and turned around and clouted Naruto. "Bitch!" he yelled halfheartedly. He and Naruto played pranks on each other all time that the action was was usually anticipated. Of course he knew that Naruto was merely toying with him.

Naruto jumped back, readying himself to strike at his friend again, but stopped short when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He stood straight and pulled it out, flipped it open, and read the message. His eyebrows rose and he promptly shoved the phone in front of Kiba's face.

The brunet pulled his face away so he could see clearly and read the message aloud to himself. "I hope you know how to ride a bike or a mo-ped. You're on trial period! Come in this Wednesday." He looked at Naruto. «Who is that from?»

«It's that Akamichiraku restaurant we went to last week!» Naruto answered, beside himself in excitement. On top of passing his first audition, he now had _two_ reasons to rejoice. He could see things unfolding for him, gaining a new job and moving into the music department. He felt like he was hurdling all the things that people thought he wouldn't. Also, Jiraiya—

Jiraiya! Naruto slumped onto the couch next to Kiba. «Jiraiya hasn't responded to me yet…»

"'Well you sent your letter on Friday, right?'" he asked, and Naruto nodded. "'Give him time then.'"

Naruto pursed his lips. Jiraiya could have responded via text or email. He needed to get some form of acknowledgement from his guardian. Not hearing from Jiraiya almost felt like a rejection. _I really wanted him to be here today. Just to be there when they told me that my audition was exceptional and energetic. Among other things._ Standing from the couch, he nudged his friend and walked away.

He sat at the piano bench again and looked at the music book, reading the sheet music for a while and trying to remember if he'd ever heard the piece before in the past. It was transcribed from a concerto, a _largo_ piece, slow and drawling, which Naruto disliked greatly. It contradicted with his high energy, strong play. He liked to beat on the keys of the piano, but this required that he be patient, tentative. Those were attributes that he didn't have.

On a scale of fastest to slowest, _largo_ could be as slow as crawling 50 beats per minute, but Naruto usually liked to play at a whopping _vivace _or _allegro _pace, which hit about 120 beats per minute—minimum. This was a deathly paced song he thought as he flipped through the pages. He very nearly _hated_ slow songs. Another thing about largo pieces was that they called for a player's discretion to decide were he should slow down drastically, quicken the pace slightly or if he had to use the soften pedal. Honestly, Naruto followed the notes, but he very rarely followed the pace of a slow song too religiously or else the piece just became boring to him. Again, patience was not a strong suit.

The piece wasn't actually too difficult, but seemed quite emotive, though-provoking. It was going to take a lot of patience for him to slow things down. He glanced at Kiba, who was currently biting his tongue as he violently played his fighting game, and clapped his hands, successfully gaining the brunet's attention. «Can you help me out a little?» he asked.

Kiba had a basic musical background (is parents wanted him to be a _prodigy_), so he conceded. Pausing his game, he walked over and looked over the sheet music. Huh. This was _really_ not that hard. But when he thought about it, the song was largo, so Naruto probably would have trouble with the pace of the music (as he was more accustomed to fast paced music). Maybe his 'judges' were aware of Naruto's cripple as far as musical pace, and it could very well have been that they were analyzing his skill. "'Do you mean with the tempo?'" he asked.

Naruto nodded.

_Wish I had a metronome_, Kiba thought, putting his chin in his fist. "Well then…Why don't you just practice the music first. Just get the feel of the fingering and the right notes. When you get that down, then I'll help you with the tempo," he suggested.

Naruto pouted but took the sheets from Kiba and did as suggested, turning back to the piano. He smiled when Kiba patted his shoulder in consolation before walking back to his game. He had to do perfectly. Sakura was most likely going to be there on Friday, and the last thing he wanted to do was mess up in front of her. Because...he sort of liked her. Of course, this was more than impressing one person, but it couldn't hurt if his playing could attract her to him.

Orochimaru was testing him, he swore. This was going to be a lot of practice…

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto walked slowly down the busy Tokyo street to the Akamichiraku restaurant, sighing. The Beethoven piece was troubling him—the pace of the song _was_ difficult for him to master,—Jiraiya had yet to contact him regarding this Friday, and his forearms were in a _lot_ of pain from all the hours of playing. He did his research for the piece though, and found a few sites that had the whole piece available for listening.

In these situations, because Naruto couldn't hear, he'd learned to feel music. Setting the music loud enough, he could feel for the vibrations. Doing this helped him to acclimate himself to the music.

As he neared the restaurant, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly flipped it open and stared at the text Sakura just sent.

'Naruto! Where have you been all my life? I haven't seen you since Monday! Stop skipping your classes. I miss you. Did you crawl in a hole?'

He chuckled and then responded. 'Well hopefully I won't even have those classes by next week. Muahaha.'

A few seconds later: 'I'm still so shocked at how well you play! I just didn't expect that from you! I'm definitely going on Friday to cheer you on!'

Naruto smiled and responded, his stomach jumping a little as his heart quickened in pace. Sakura was so good to him, and it made something in him sing at the thought that she was going to be there on Friday. 'You better come on Friday! It's a date! I'm nervous and I'm having trouble with the music, but my friend is helping me!'

He breathed in deeply and looked down out his phone when it vibrated in his hand. 'Aw, don't worry, you'll do just fine, I know it! It's alright if I bring my friend too, right? I told him about you and he'd love to meet you!'

_Friend…_? A _guy_ friend…? Huh. That little voice in him was squashed. 'Friend? Should I waggle my eyebrows suggestively? Sure, bring him. I'll talk to you later. Friday or whenever.'

Just before he entered the restaurant, Sakura returned, 'Haha, great! Waggle if you wish! He'll be happy to meet you! He needs more friends anyway, the loser. Well, I'll catch you later, then!'

Ah, his heart started beating again. A guy friend didn't necessarily suggest a boyfriend, right? He could only hope._ Gah_, _Sakura is so cute…_

He opened the door.

"Welcome to—ah! Uh, you're Naruto, right? Oh wait, duh. Erm…Dad! Naruto is here!" Chouji yelled back at the kitchen.

The man came out quickly, wiping his hands clean on his apron. He signaled for the blond to come over and Naruto conceded, bowing his head thankfully at Chouji and waving.

"I don't ever think I told you my name, kid. I'm Chouza," the older man said, putting a fist on his hip. When Naruto nodded the owner took a quick look around, scratching his head. "Where's your friend?" he asked, looking directly at Naruto.

Naruto pulled out a device, slightly larger but thinner than a pocket pc, and smaller than his whole hand. It had a stylus pen, and with it he wrote, 'I decided to leave him home today. He barks too much, don't you think?'

Chouza laughed heartily. "That's a very efficient tool!" he said, looking at the digital notepad in amazement. It was a very convenient tool for Naruto to communicate with.

Naruto shrugged, avoiding customers' curious gazes. 'Are we gonna talk here or in an office…?' he wrote again, turning the screen to the man.

Chouza shrugged his large shoulders. "The office, I suppose," he answered. "Follow me," he said, waving his arm emphatically towards the office.

Naruto nodded, putting his digi-pad in its sleeve and inside his bag, following the man obediently through a narrow corridor and up a small flight of steps, which also led up to the second floor. _It seems like they live here…_ Naruto thought as Chouza entered the first room on the left. He sat at the seat where the large man pointed.

Chouza sat at the other side of his cluttered desk, tilted the screen so that Naruto could see it, and opened a simple Notepad program. He was trying to be considerate toward Naruto, knowing that the blond wouldn't be able to follow everything he said. If Naruto needed clarification, he would type it in for him. He finally looked pointedly at Naruto. "First of all, I should ask…do you have any work experience?" he began slowly. He waited patiently for Naruto's response.

Naruto clenched his jaw in concentration, showing the man his response. 'I worked in the town library for the past two years in Kushima twice a week during the school year and four times a week during the summer.'

"Huh." Chouza nodded, impressed. He hadn't expected that Naruto had worked, honestly. "What did you do there?"

Naruto's tongue peaked from the side of his lips as he began to write intensely. He turned the device to Chouza a short while later. 'A lot! I re-shelved books, did inventory, I helped people to find the books they needed in catalogues or on the shelves, and sometimes I worked at the front desk. I even did the art on the walls for the whole library! There was also a small program of about five to ten kids from other cities that I taught. I taught deaf kids and teens to read recreational books with more clarity, since it's difficult for people _born_ deaf to read some terms in written books because of certain incomprehensible concepts. If you want to call the library for reference, the number is 123.456.7890.'

"Wah," Chouza murmured as he finished reading, honestly impressed with Naruto's resume. "You did a lot!" he said in amazement. "So then," he began, "you already have dealt with communication." Naruto nodded. "Then there's no reason why I shouldn't hire you!" he exclaimed. Naruto nodded excitedly. "Just so you know, the position that you'll be taking over has a lot of responsibility," Chouza explained. "You'll be the waiter sometimes, but only if we're extremely busy. You're a bus boy, but the _most _important…you'll be the delivery boy."

Naruto blinked owlishly at Chouza and then wrote, 'So that's why you asked me if I knew how to ride a bike or moped. I can ride a bike, but I don't have the license for a mo-ped. I'm also fast on my feet for close deliveries.'

"Well then, say no more. You're hired. I don't even think I'll have to call the library; I trust you," he said, leaning back. "We'll need to train you, of course, but that should be easy, yeah? When can you start?"

'As soon as possible!' Naruto wrote happily, nearly jumping in his seat.

"Then how does this Friday sound?" Chouza asked.

_Ah, no!_ Naruto pouted then typed, 'Friday is a little bad…I can start on Saturday, though! Any time.'

The man gave an affirmative clap. "Then Saturday it is. What size shirt do you wear?" he asked, standing up as he sized Naruto. "Small?"

Naruto sighed and nodded. He wasn't horribly thin, nor was he tall. But because of the crash, his growth was considerably stunted… Kiba towered him! He caught the plastic-wrapped, polo shirt and apron thrown at him. Ah, he could just dance right now, he was so happy. His legs bounced up and down.

"You're only allowed either black pants, and no tears or rips. No visible piercings or gaudy tattoos, you know the deal. The restaurant hours are from 10 and to 10 pm, and usually we are still for another hour or so cleaning. You can be here this Saturday at…hmm…3:30. We'll discuss your schedule then and introduce you to the staff and get you started." Naruto couldn't contain his happiness anymore. He jumped up from his chair and pumped up his fists . Chouza laughed. "Well, if that's it, then I'll let you go." He handed Naruto a folder. "Take this home and fill it out. It's all the legal stuff. Just bring it in to me on Saturday and I'll file you in."

Naruto nodded excitedly, bowing at him.

"Okay, okay, you're happy. I understand. You can go!" he said, pointing to the door. "Oh wait! Before you leave, tell me, how do I, ah…say 'Welcome.' In Sign Language, that is."

Naruto pursed his lips, then showed him the simple gesture. _Already interested, huh?_ He always enjoyed teaching someone sign language if they were genuinely interested.

"Oh, that's easy…" Chouza mumbled. He then copied it. "Okay, so, then, 'Welcome' to Akimichiraku!" Naruto grinned at him happily, bowing again. "What are you still doing here? Go home already!"

Naruto straightened with a playful salute, grabbed his things and put them in his messenger bag. He walked up to the owner, grabbed a hand with both of his, and shook it vigorously before bolting out the office. Chouji waved at him on the way out, and Naruto slapped the brunet a high-five, waving afterwards at a young waitress. He left the restaurant and ran toward his apartment. This week was just _so_ good to him!

When he arrived at his apartment, boasting his work clothes at Kiba, they'd celebrated by going to an arcade, courtesy of Kiba. Honestly, Kiba _dragged_ him there with the claim that Naruto was overworking himself by playing piano all day.

The brunet told him to relax a little, and _relax he did_!

But Friday crept up _too_ soon.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto's leg shook while he sat staring at the brick wall. Between yesterday and today, he had become both devastatingly nervous, and horribly depressed. Jiraiya never did respond to his letter. He knew that the old man had received it. He also knew that Jiraiya to be a person who didn't particularly like surprises. He wanted Jiraiya's approval more than anyone's.

He blinked, biting his nail as he glanced at the clock up on the brick wall. It was 3:40, and no one was here yet. _Where the hell is Kiba…? I already told him where I was! _He was sitting back stage of the concert hall by himself (with the permission of Iruka). His whole body shook like a loose leaf, and he felt light-headed enough to flutter away. He'd already vomited once today while reading the music notes. He hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon because of anxiety. And his damned hands couldn't _stop _shaking.

_I don't think I can do this_, he thought suddenly. It'd been hard enough to perform in front of the three and Sakura on Monday (_Agh, Sakura!_), and the more he thought of performing before more than one hundred people, most of whom were students—judgmental, cruel, hazers if history told him anything—the more his confidence dwindled. He jumped up when the phone in his pocket vibrated. He flipped it open with shaking hands and read Sakura's message. 'Where are you? My friend and I are in the auditorium.'

He smiled slightly, breathing out slowly and returning: 'I'm back stage right. _Your _left if you're facing the stage.'

If not a few seconds later, Sakura peeked her strawberry-blonde head of hair backstage and walked up to Naruto with her rather garish friend walking in behind her. "'There you are, Naruto! Naruto, this is my friend, Lee!'"

Any other day, Naruto would be all over the floor at the sight of this Lee person's appearance—mushroom haircut, horribly thick eyebrows, tall and lanky, wide, honest-looking eyes. It would be in good humor. But he couldn't even think to do _that_.

"Yo! I'm Rock Lee! Please to meet you!" Lee initiated, bowing quickly.

The blond nodded.

"'Are you alright, Naruto?'" Sakura asked observantly. She crept towards Lee and he placed his hand on her shoulder.

_What was that…? _Naruto blinked.

"Naruto…?" Sakura repeated, waving her hand at him.

_…They're not…**just **friends…_

Sakura tilted her head in worry, and Lee visibly squeezed her shoulder as she looked up at him for a split second. Naruto didn't look well.

«I…I don't think I can do this…» Naruto finally admitting, shrinking further in his chair. _It hurts…_ «I don't feel too good…» _I thought maybe…_

"What did he say, Sakura?" Lee asked, blinking owlishly at Naruto.

Sakura repeated what Naruto had said, and Lee clapped his hands and the put them on his hips. "Naruto! A true man follows up on his words! He follows his dreams!" he preached, and Naruto nodded understandably. "Find delight in _all_ the things you do in your youth! You've barely blossomed, so you can't shrink back! You should _go for the goal _with passion! You should—"

Naruto stared at him strangely and gave Sakura a look that essentially conveyed, 'Is this guy serious?'

"Shut up, Lee. That's enough out of you," Sakura groused in irritation, pressing her fingertips to her forehead.

"Okay, Sakura!"

Sakura sighed. "'Despite Lee's, ah, outspokenness, he's right, Naruto. You have to follow through on your word. There are already about 25 or so people in the auditorium talking about you so excitedly! Even Ino is out in front!'"

«That many people already?» Naruto asked, paling. His stomach turned again, and he moaned silently.

"'I'm going to show Lee where the bathroom is, okay? I'll be right back.'" Sakura stated.

Naruto nearly told her not to go, but he bottled up, and she just walked away. If not even a minute later, sitting once again in his lonesome, and feeling quite like crushed paper, a hand clapped onto his shoulder and he jumped again.

_"Fuck_, Naruto! You must be really nervous if you didn't even feel me coming behind you!" Kiba said as Naruto slumped into his chair again. "There are like 60 people out there, man!"

Naruto paled again, putting his hand on his forehead. _Ugh, I'm gonna die!_

"'Yeah, man! People are chatting up a storm about you, seriously! There was this really cute girl there too… She was sitting next to some guy that looked like he could be her twin, _no lie_, and they both had light grey eyes!'" He paused when Naruto stood up quickly, picking up his backpack. "What are you doing…?"

Naruto looked at Kiba pointedly before making a beeline for the closest exit. Really, he couldn't do this.

"Whoa there, mate!" Kiba reached forward quickly and caught Naruto by the back of his shirt. "Where the _fuck_ do you think you're going?"

Naruto pulled away from him him in earnest.

Kiba nearly got Naruto in a headlock but was wrenched away from the blond and literally pressed against the wall with a rather brutal and firm grip on his head and his arm jerked at a painful angle behind his back. "Ow! What the hell!" he hissed, trying to look back.

Sakura barricaded herself between Naruto and Lee (who was the cause of Kiba's current position). "Who are you? What do you want with Naruto?" she yelled.

"Who are _you_?" Kiba retorted angrily, hissing again when Lee pulled on his arm more.

"I believe it was my Sakura that asked the question first," Lee murmured darkly. "Be a gentleman and answer her."

Naruto blanched in worry for Kiba and headed for the two, pushing past Sakura. He yanked Lee away from Kiba, the latter of whom instantly turned about to punch Lee, who, in turn, ducked instinctively as if the brunet's fist were nothing but a spasm. Lee retorted quickly with a fast fist to Kiba's nose.

Naruto gasped and pushed Lee from Kiba, who sat on the floor, cradling his bloody nose, and bent down to help staunch the flow.

"What the _fuck!_" Kiba yelled nasally. "Where the _fuck_ do you go off _attacking_ me!" he continued, pointing accusingly at Lee and Sakura. "Shit!"

«Why did you do that?» Naruto signed in shock at Sakura and Lee.

"'But…but he was attacking you…'" Sakura mumbled.

"No I wasn't!" Kiba objected. "He was gonna skip out on his audition!"

"So…so you were…"

"I was _trying_ to stop him!" Kiba roared.

"I am so sorry!" Lee stated honestly. "We misunderstood!"

Kiba glared at Lee. "You know sign language," he said, regarding Sakura. Sakura pointed at herself dumbly and nodded. "Are you Sakura?" he asked.

She nodded again. "How do you know who—"

"I _live_ with Naruto," Kiba murmured, slapping Lee's hand away when the other male bent to his haunches to help.

"'Oh! I didn't know Naruto was living with anyone! He never _mentioned_ you, just a friend,'" Sakura exclaimed.

Kiba glared at Naruto, and the blond smiled weakly. «It slipped my mind…?»

Kiba rolled his eyes, swallowing the blood that had trickled into his throat.

"We're so sorry for the misunderstanding!" Sakura repeated, bowing. "I'm Haruno Sakura!"

"Yo! I'm Rock Lee! Barring the circumstances in which we met, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Lee stated emphatically, holding his hand to shake Kiba's hand.

Kiba jerked forward to bite the appendage.

"What _happened_ here?"

Kiba, Sakura, and Lee turned and saw a shocked and perturbed older man rushing toward Naruto. "Professor Iruka…" Sakura began. Naruto turned in the direction they were facing and cringed.

"Wh…! There's _blood_ on the _polished _floor!" Iruka whined. He caught sight of Naruto and pointed at the blond in panic. "Ah! Naruto! _Your hands! Your shirt! _There's _blood_!"

Naruto looked down at himself and saw the blood droplets on his shirt. Well fuck. He didn't have another shirt on him. He would've switched with Kiba, but _that_ had blood on it _too _(and it had a company logo, anyway).

Iruka turned to Sakura and Lee, seething. "You two, in the auditorium. _Now._" He turned to Kiba and Naruto. "Bathroom!" he barked, pushing them into the backstage bathroom to resolve this issue.

Naruto sat next to Kiba if only a few minutes later, staring up at the stage nervously as Iruka set up the camera the same as he had done on Monday. When he'd walked from the backstage into the auditorium, chin touching his chest, he'd peeked a small glace at the people sitting in the auditorium and nearly turned about. If it hadn't been for Kiba walking behind him, he _would've_ turned around.

His leg started shaking again when Iruka turned to him from the stage and signaled for him to come up.

Iruka looked at the small crowd of people. There probably over two hundred people gathered into the auditorium. He didn't know how so many people came to know about this, but he was sure that Naruto was nervous.

_Oh god, oh god…_ Naruto froze. He _froze_. There were too many people watching. The _president of the school_ was sitting with Orochimaru and Ibiki in the _front row, _damn it. He couldn't do this!_ Why did I agree to this again?_ _Isn't this abuse?_

Kiba turned over to Naruto, noticed the blonde's predicament, and elbowed him weakly. He was nervous too. He was wringing his shirt in his hands and his heart was beating so painfully against his chest. He could barely stop gnawing at his lip. Blinking, he elbowed Naruto again.

_I can't breathe. I can't breathe. **Can't breathe**._

"Hey, isn't _he_ the one who's supposed to do the audition?" someone whispered a few rows behind Naruto and Kiba.

"Yeah. Hey, did you hear? _I_ heard that he's deaf! _Deaf!_"

"Me too! Deaf people can play music now? Spare me."

Naruto slowly stood, and he only walked forward when Iruka signaled for him to come up again. He walked up the steps nervously, and, nearly missing a step by an inch, caught himself before he could actually fall.

_Wah! Naruto!_ Kiba thought, holding himself back from running up to the blond, grabbing him, and running out of the building.

Someone snickered.

"My cousin was too late in applying, and this foreigner gets a second chance? So messed up!"

"Seriously, this better be worth it or—"

Kiba turned around _very_ bodily in his seat and he _glared_ at the murmurers, not realizing that Sakura had done so as well (and that she currently looked more threatening than he did).

Naruto breathed deeply, shutting his eyes for a moment to allay his nerves. The walked to the piano seemed _much_ longer than on Monday. _Jiraiya…_ He glanced out at the crowd again, ever-so-slightly more confident, just to see if his guardian was out there. Not there. _He's not coming…I can't believe it. He's really not coming…_ He felt so numb at the prospect that he didn't realize that he was sitting at the piano bench until Iruka placed a hand on his shoulder.

It hurt. Jiraiya's not being here made his heart tighten and his eyes sting. But maybe it was better this way… Maybe it was better because he wouldn't have to face Jiraiya's disappointment if he screwed up.

He blinked as Iruka spoke gently, nodding vacantly. He didn't really pay attention at first.

_Who am I kidding_…? He couldn't wanted Jiraiya to be here right now even more than his mother or father. He wanted Jiraiya's blessing more than _anything_.

"Naruto, just don't think about all these people and you'll do fine, I'm sure. Just keep your eyes on me, and wait for Orochimaru's queue." Naruto nodded again, unaware that he was visibly shaking. He caught enough of what Iruka said. "Good luck, Naruto! Fight!" Iruka whispered, patting the blond on the shoulder.

He could barely look at Iruka as he walked off the stage. It meant looking into that large assembly of judgmental students. It meant seeing their mouths move and not hearing or knowing what they were saying from such a distance. It meant messing up horribly, not realizing, and continuing to mess up.

It meant they could laugh at him and he would never think twice to know it.

He barely saw Orochimaru's nod of approval. He caught it in the corner of his eye, but he hesitated for nearly a half a minute, unsure of whether he'd been cued. When Iruka curled his brows at him and made a small, 'Go on...!' motion with his hand, he nodded. Closing his eyes, he faced the piano, afraid to touch a single key. His fingers shook, and a feeling of tense nausea washed through him again.

_No. I have to do this_. He had to remember what he was fighting for. _I **want** this._ He'd lived for today for over a year now. He'd fought his way here against many obstacles. Taking this leap was the biggest and most difficult, but he knew that after this, things would get better. He breathed deeply and shut his eyes again.

"Come on, Naruto…" Kiba whispered to himself, looking up at the blond in worry. "Don't back down now…"

Sakura fisted her hands and, near tears, bit her lip. "Fight, Naruto…!" she mumbled.

_Everyone _was staring at Naruto, and he could feel it, and it made it all the harder to start. At this moment, everyone's attention was on him.

He opened his eyes and lifted his hands above those glossy keys, and everyone _held their breaths_.

"He's starting," someone whispered.

The auditorium fell into a deathly, agonizing silence. Naruto could feel it surrounding him more so than the silence that he was already trapped in. A darkness loomed about him. He read that when people were in intense, near death situations, their brains helped them to cope. Some people felt an experience similar to being the single object in the universe, phantom-like, with a sensation that they were the only things that existed. They stopped shaking, worrying, the heartbeat went from its racing speeds to a slow, hibernating pace. It was how he felt when he sucked in a long, drawn out breath.

If they didn't exist, then he had nothing to worry about, so he started slowly and lightly, pressing down on the chords. He could feel a void surrounding him, but as he started playing, things started to dance pleasurably before his eyes.

Maybe Beethoven wasn't so bad…

It was honestly awe-inspiring to watch Naruto play. It was such a gorgeous, pensive piece, and Naruto showed it on his expressive face. He sucked people in with his unorthodox movements. Perhaps they could hear the music the way he felt it.

But this wasn't for them, no. This was for him. _He _was speaking to them, and yet not merely to the people in the auditorium, but to every doubter he'd ever run into in his life. He was telling very doctor that told him he wouldn't walk that he was walking. For every person that doubted he would be able to function in society, Naruto was doing just fine.

For his 'friends' that abandoned him during the darkest moments of his life, he didn't need them. To that accident storm that had completely changed his life. To people that shunned him, and those that mocked him. To those people who didn't try to understand him, who tried to hold him back, hurt him.

And even to _Jiraiya_, who certainly helped him fight every step of the way, but coddled him too much, who always encouraged him not to push himself, and didn't urge him to meet his real potential. To Jiraiya, who didn't approve of his decision by not being here. How could Jiraiya abandon him at this time?

He ended softly, facing the ceiling and pressing his fingers delicately against the last notes and letting it draw out as he breathed out deeply.

Ten minutes passed so quickly.

He looked down at the piano and tried to blink back the moisture in his eyes. God, he loved music. He wasn't a sentimentalist, but music took him to a different place.

So, damn it, he had every right to feel emotional right now.

He turned over to face the students and saw them clapping. Clapping._ I did it…_

His skill was undeniable.

Kiba stood up, clapping loudly, and unable to hold his excitement. He did it. Naruto _did _it. _Fuck_, he did it. For something that Naruto had wanted for so long, he was proud that Naruto was getting recognition.

After just a minute or so, the auditorium was mostly empty, save for a few remaining.

Not caring for any formalities, Kiba jumped onto the stage and _plowed_ right into Naruto before the blond could even stand up.

Naruto almost fell over when Kiba ran into him, but maintained his balance, pushing the teary-eyed brunet away from him. He was grabbed from behind by an excited Lee.

"Awesome, Naruto! That was _wonderfully_ played! I could feel every emotion that you put into the piece!"

"He can't hear you Lee! Stop yelling!"

"But Sakura, I just can't hold back!" Lee yelled, looking down at Sakura, who was covering her face in embarassment at the seats below.

Naruto shrank away when Lee ruffled his hair, looking over to the three judges who were sitting at the front row with a look of long-suffering. His eyes roamed slightly in the auditorium and he suddenly froze. His heart skipped a beat. _Jiraiya._

Jiraiya was standing at a doorway in the very back of the auditorium with his arms crossed and his face stern. As soon as their eyes met, he pushed himself off the doorway and walked toward the stage.

Naruto held his breath and Kiba pulled away from him suddenly, both standing their ground as the older man stalked toward the blond resolutely. The blond stared up at him defiantly as his guardian reached him, and not but a second later was he cradling his head.

Jiraiya _never_ raised his hand at Naruto, _let alone_ his voice.

Kiba backed away and blinked, but didn't intervene because something like this was bound to happen eventually. Granted, Jiraiya merely clouted Naruto, but he always remembered seeing the man keeping his cool. Jiraiya was incredibly patient with Naruto the past five years, and incredibly tolerant.

_"Excuse me!_" Iruka stood up and ran toward the stage.

"You won't take another step further," Jiraiya murmured darkly at Iruka. The professor halted in his step, blinking. Jiraiya turned to Naruto. "You have some _nerve_ Naruto," he hissed, too overwhelmed to sign at Naruto. "A lot of nerve to _write me a letter_ rather than tell me to my face?" he continued, ignoring everyone's incredulous stares. He was so livid, he could even think. "After everything that's happened, _this is how you thank me? _Are you that much of a coward that you couldn't tell me when I was still here?"

Naruto stood straight and glowered at Jiraiya. He didn't want it to be like this. «It's my life, Jiraiya. This is what I _want_. At this point, you can't hold me back—»

Everyone winced when Jiraiya clouted Naruto on his head again. What they didn't expect, most of all Naruto, was when Jiraiya pulled the shocked blond toward him placing his chin atop Naruto's head, a hand lifting up to pat gently at the back of Naruto's head. "Damn you, Naruto. Damn you," he whispered to himself, knowing that Naruto wouldn't hear the words.

Naruto didn't move. _What…? _It stunned him too much and his eyes stung.

Jiraiya pulled away from Naruto, who'd stiffened against him, and very discreetly wiped the blonde's face. He held Naruto's head steady, either hands clasping the blonde's face. «I'm proud of you, Naruto. Damn proud. And your parents would be, too. There isn't a better son right now. You know that, right?»

Naruto tried to blink his tears back. Instead, he smiled and leaned into Jiraiya, wrapping his arms around him as his guardian put his hand though his hair.

Kiba clouted the blond on the back and Lee squeezed his shoulder. Iruka dared to step up and he patted Naruto on the shoulder. Naruto could barely stand.

_I did it_. _I did it…_

**.**

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**Comment: **I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I hope you enjoyed the music with this as well.


	7. Part II: Dissonance

**Comment: **The response to the last chapter was great! Thank you very much :D.

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**Shizuka no Sonata**

**Dissonance**

**.o.**

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Naruto skulked into the kitchen tiredly, yawning as he reached for the Frigidaire. Akamaru wasn't about his feet and jumping, so maybe Kiba was jogging in the park nearby with him or he went to work early and took Akamaru with him. He was thankful too, seeing as he was in no mood to entertain the fox. Last night, Jiraiya had taken Naruto to celebrate at a nearby sushi bar, and he'd invited Kiba, Sakura, Lee, and even Ino tagged along. He was leaving to Kushima again, but he wanted to spend a little time with Naruto.

It'd been fun, to say the least. They filled themselves up with food, and Jiraiya even snuck them some alcohol, to which they were eternally grateful. The last thing he remembered, though, was watching an inebriated Lee try to pick a fight with some poor fellow that happened to be sitting near them. That kid couldn't hold his liquor! Naruto tried to intervene, and the result of his intervention was the small bruise near his eye.

_Gah, I can't go to work looking like this…_ he thought as he chewed on an apple and leaned against the counter. When he finished with the fruit, he sat on his couch and played Kiba's video games for a couple of hours until it was nearly time for work. By the time he left the apartment, it was almost three. So slinging his messenger bag onto his shoulder, he ran the whole way there and arrived at the restaurant heaving up a storm. _Argh, I need to get into shape again! _Chouji enthusiastically waved at him and he waved back. He held up his bag with the shirt and apron stuffed inside, as if to ask where he could change.

Chouji grunted something to himself, scratching his sideburn. "Er…, you need to change?" he asked slowly.

Naruto nodded.

Chouji, knowing that business was slow at the moment, turned and yelled out, "Oi! Shikamaru! Get over here!"

Naruto turned and saw an annoyed, uninterested young man walk over. He stood there and watched the exchange.

"Ah, Shikamaru, I keep telling you! Smile, smile! Customers like _happy_ people!" Chouji hissed.

Shikamaru, standing at a height near Kiba's and sporting a high ponytail like Iruka's, rolled his droopy eyes. "Chouji," he began, pausing. He tried to think of a comeback, but instead finished, "Ugh, annoying. I really should quit."

Chouji chuckled and Naruto blinked. "Then you wouldn't be able to pay off your tuition. Then you'd have to quit school."

Shikamaru sighed. "That sounds so appealing right now," he mumbled slowly. "I didn't finish cleaning the table. What's up?"

Chouji then pointed his chubby finger to Naruto. "This is the new kid I was telling you about, Naruto. He's starting today. Dad's at a last minute meeting , so I was wondering if you could show this guy the ropes a little."

Shikamaru whined and slumped over. "Why d'ya want me to suffer, huh?" he asked the brunet. "I dun' feel like playing teacher…"

Naruto, feeling slightly scandalized, had to stop himself from 'telling' Shikamaru off. Chouji, sensing the tension, quickly intervened. "Don't take what Shika says to heart. He's too lazy to do anything, so it's a surprise that he still works here."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He then turned to Shikamaru and gave him a small, friendly smile.

Shikamaru curled his lip and groaned tiredly, mumbling for the blond to follow him. _Gah, I hate happy people the most._ He walked next to Naruto, having heard that the blond was deaf, and put one hand in his pocket and tapped Naruto's chest in an overly casual manner. "That's the kitchen," he said, pointing. "That's Mr. Ichiraku. He used to own his own restaurant but he merged with Chouza here. The restaurant actually comes from merging their names together. A lot of times he travels south to see if he can open another restaurant, so sometimes you won't see him for weeks, dude. Those twins are his nephews, Nishi and Matsu." He knocked on the doorway. "Oi, guys, this is Naruto, the new kid. Say hi."

The three nonchalantly turned to Naruto and waved with their utensils still in hand, giving a hearty hello, with the two younger ones making odd antics before getting back to their tasks. Naruto smiled back at them and bowed slightly in greeting. Shikamaru turned around and waved at Naruto to follow. Naruto did so, pondering on the brunet's speech patterns.

"These are the public privies," Shikamaru continued, pointing to the doors. Naruto didn't catch what he'd said (as Shikamaru was a mutterer, he concluded), but got the gist when they passed the bathrooms. Honestly, he had a _strange_ way of speaking. Shikamaru walked up a small flight of steps that Naruto was familiar with. "Chouza's office," he pointed. "And finally, the locker room." He walked into the room and Naruto followed him closely.

It was just a simple room, and Naruto sat at the bench and looked up at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru leaned against the doorway, sucking at his teeth casually. "So…how d'ya communicate with people everyday, hah?" he asked bluntly in mild interest. "I mean, not everyone knows sign language, you know?"

Naruto pursed his lips at such an abrupt, tactless way to ask such a question, but quickly chalked it up to Shikamaru's personality. He blinked at the brunet, who drummed his fingers over his arm, and shrugged, pulling out and turning on his small digi-pad to show Shikamaru.

Shikamaru took the small computer from Naruto, turning it this way and that. He shrugged a lazy shoulder and then turned it on to stare at the small screen. It was rather efficient, he concluded as he wrote something with the stylus pen. He handed it back to the awaiting blond after a moment and mumbled, "Pretty solid," under his breath. "I guess ya must write fast?" he asked, making a writing motion with his hand.

Naruto nodded.

Shikamaru turned distractedly to the hallway when he heard one of the twins call him.

"Shikamaru, I think Chouji might need your help! We just got in a large group of salary-men! Another group just came too, so Ayame is swamped and TenTen isn't here for the day!"

Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes, turning to Naruto as he scratched at his scalp and sucked at his teeth. Naruto looked up at him curiously, blinking. "Nn…" the brunet moaned, rubbing at his scalp and squinting in concentration. "I would tell ya ta hang tight until the head honcho gets back," he began, "but he won't be back for another hour or so." He pursed his lips. "And we could use the help…" Naruto blinked at him again. "How'd'ya like an early start in training?"

Naruto straightened with a face of childish excitement. _Really?_ He pointed at his nose questioningly. (1)

"Well there ain't no other person in this room, yeah?" Shikamaru retorted. "Well?" he continued impatiently. "Ya up for it?"

Naruto nodded fervently, standing up.

"Get changed quickly, wash your hands, and meet me by the kitchen," the brunet said with a note of finality. Naruto nodded and watched him exit the locker room.

The blonde stood up and pulled of his shirt before unwrapping his new shirt (_Ah, I love the scent of new clothes!_), and wrapped the eggplant-coloured apron around his waist. He left the first two buttons of his polo unbuttoned, tucked his shirt into his pants and pulled it out slightly to hang over his belt-line, and observed himself in the mirror as he adjusted his clothing. It was a nice design on the black polo of a very graphically ornate purple butterfly, as the logo and the name written out in graphically styled English (which he stared at curiously, as he _was_ familiar with design). He tried to pat down his wild hair a little and finally gave up, licking the tips of his fingers to smooth his eyebrows instead, tucking his little digi-pad into the pocket of his apron.

This was definitely going to be an interesting work experience, he couldn't help to think as he walked toward the kitchen after washing his hands. Shikamaru was waiting as he said he would, leaning against the doorway with a menu in his hand.

"This is your _bible_," the brunet said articulately, handing the menu to Naruto. "Live it. Learn it. _Breathe _it. _Love it_." He clapped his hands together prayerfully. Naruto mocked Shikamaru playfully by solemnly holding his hands up in an oath, in which Shikamaru chuckled. He pulled a pen and a pad from his pocket and said, "For now, I just want ya ta observe me. Look at how I do things. I dunno how boss wants to train ya, since there's an obvious speech barrier, no offense, so just…I dunno…just _shadow_ me or something for now."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and gave the brunet at thumbs up. When Shikamaru jerked his head for him to follow, he did so obediently. He had to admit: as they neared the table of about 10 middle-aged, white-collar men and women, his stomach did a little flip-flop. _A_ restaurant was _very_ different from a library! As Chouza'd told him, there was more communication involved in this job. His fingers tightened around the menu and he gulped when Shikamaru stopped at the table, looking on like a little child. He watched Shikamaru introduce himself and froze when he pointed an open hand at him, breathing out when he continued.

"Welcome to Akimichiraku. I'll be your host for today. My name is Shikamaru and this is Naruto. Please be easy on him, as he is new and is under training right now. Would ya like to begin with an appetizer or a drink?"

Naruto watched as each person ordered a drink and looked quickly at the menu, then watched as Shikamaru quickly scribbled everything into the pad as it was ordered.

"And I'd like an order of octopus appetizer for the table!" a man added.

Shikamaru nodded. He then proceeded to repeat the order, got an approval from them, and then turned to leave with Naruto shadowing him like he was another limb. The brunet went into the kitchen, gave the guys the order, and left again to wait on a couple that just walked in. Ayame, a light-brown haired, slightly older woman, was so busy working that she didn't notice Naruto.

Naruto also himself got so caught up with helping, and he was so delighted when Shikamaru asked him to help in various things (unfolding the tray table so that Shikamaru could set the large plate of dishes, setting up a few tables or cleaning them, bring an order of appetizers to one table, giving the order to the cooks, etc.) little though they were, that he failed to realize that so many hours had passed in no time, or that his boss had already come back.

Chouza crossed his arms over his chest and watched Naruto, Chouji standing next to him in a similar pose. "Hn," he murmured. He'd been keeping his eye on Naruto for the past couple of hours just to make sure he didn't mess up with anything.

"I agree. Pretty careful about what he does," Chouji murmured. He patted his father on his arm. "Ya done good, old man!" he taunted with a grin.

"He even slid his folder under my office door," Chouza said in awe. "I didn't think such hardworking kids existed these days, seriously. What spawned him? That's one thing that we owners were discussing in our meeting!"

Chouji shrugged. "Shikamaru said that he is pretty good help so far. He doesn't really get in the way."

"Well that's always good," Chouza mumbled. "I don't know if we should start training him to waiter on tables, though. He has so many other tasks that he might not need to do it."

"Well let's try it for a day or so next week after he's gotten used to this, yeah, pops?" Chouji suggested. "Maybe he can just do it for a couple of hours whenever he works, and then do everything else that he has to do. I mean, he _has_ to make tip money."

"Well, you _know_ what the problem is," Chouza mumbled to his son, tilting his head. "He doesn't speak, so there are a lot of things that will challenge him, such as introducing himself, ah, asking the customer if they need anything else, you know, small stuff even."

"That's definitely true," Chouji mumbled. "Hm…" Both he and his father squeezed at their chins in thought.

"Go call him over for me," Chouza said, waving his hand in a come-hither motion. "And then you can get back to work."

Chouji did as told, and if not five seconds later, Naruto was standing in front of Chouza in a more isolated part of the restaurant with evident concern on his face. Naruto quickly pulled out his pocket-pc and typed, showing his message to Chouza. 'I didn't realize that you were already here! I'm sorry if you needed to speak with me!'

"Ah, it's no problem, Naruto," Chouza said, articulating every word. "You were working so hard that I didn't want to disturb you! Have you gotten any special attention yet?"

Naruto blushed and averted his eyes. He knew that he shouldn't, but he pulled out a little roll of cash that a woman gave him. Chouza looked at it and rumbled with laughter. The money was wrapped with a piece of paper that had a phone number on it. Obviously the woman was expecting something of Naruto.

"Already attracting the young ladies, I see," Chouza said.

Naruto shrugged shyly.

"Well, would you like to take a break?" Chouza asked. "You usually get a 15 minute break for every three hours you work, and you've already been working for over four!"

_What? Seriously?_ Sure, his legs were a little tired from walking back and forth so much, but he didn't realize that he'd been working for so long! He nodded.

"Take a half hour. We'll be able to handle it for the half hour. You've done a lot of work for the first day!" Chouza said, patting Naruto on his shoulder (which made the blond flinch in pain, because, _wow_, the guy was strong).

_Oh my gosh, I think I have the best boss ever!_ Naruto thought. He wrote on his digi-pad and showed it to Chouza. 'You're the best! Thanks!'

"Keh!" Chouza mumbled embarrassingly. "Just go!"

Naruto did as told. He went to the locker room, sat on the floor, and rested his eyes a little, leaning his back against the lockers.

By the time he'd returned, Chouza had stopped him before he could get anywhere. "Naruto, I'd hate to do this to you on your first day, but we have a delivery from one of our regulars."

_Whaaaat? Already? _He pouted slightly.

"Well you shouldn't be so surprised. We usually have many deliveries a day, so you were off the hook for a while."

Naruto snapped his fingers in dismay.

"The twins are almost done with the meal, and it's pretty big big order, so it'll be a little heavy."

Naruto nodded in understanding. After a few more minutes of just watching Shikamaru and the Ayame girl helping their customers, the food was done, and all of it packed into a large metal thermal box. He watched as his boss picked it up with relative ease and jumped to attention when Chouza kicked his head back for him to follow as he led him through the kitchen and out the back door, grabbing an empty container on the way out.

"Here's you're bicycle," Chouza said, pointing to the bicycle with the empty container. "Whenever you're making a delivery, make sure that our logo is never blocked by anything so that people can see it," he instructed. "And this is how you lock the box in so that it doesn't fall out."

Naruto watched as the owner slid the thermal container into a large, metal-wired basket behind the seat of the bicycle. There was one in the front too, which he supposed was for other deliveries. Chouza put the empty container in the front basket and nodded.

"Okay. I put the other one there so it doesn't look like we don't have enough deliveries," the man said as he unlocked the bicycle and stood it straight, kicking out the leg so it wouldn't fall. "It's going to take you about 10 or so minutes to get there. Here's the address and directions. They're pretty accurate and detailed, so you shouldn't get lost. When you get to the building, this person lives on the roof, so you have to take the elevator up to the last floor, and then you have to take a small flight of steps so that you can get to the top."

Naruto blinked, letting the words sink in. He hadn't caught everything, but he was sure that he got the gist of it.

"Alright, when you get there, don't forget to safety lock the bike. Carry the whole case with you when you make you delivery. And here is his receipt. Got it?" Naruto nodded. "Okay, you can go." Chouza patted Naruto on his back, and Naruto nodded, looking over the map for a few seconds.

_Gah, so complicated. Tokyo is so confusing! It looks like a frickin' spider web!_ He got onto the bike and kicked the leg away, pushing his feet against the pedals. His face dropped. _Oh…oh my god, this bike is so heavy. _He had to stop a few times on the way to the apartment just to catch his breath. Safety-locking the bike when he got to the building, he moaned internally and stretched. _I **really **need to start working out again. I'm so horribly out of shape…_

He remembered the instructions to take the elevator and then flight of steps, staring at the mirrored walls of the elevator and flexing his muscles with the thermal container in hand. He turned the other way and flexed his muscled again. _Bang, bang, baby. Irresistable…Ugh, I'm a nerd._

This was an expensive place. To have a penthouse on the top of such a building meant one thing: rich. He trudged up the steps, tired beyond belief, and reached the top, opening the door. Instantly, wind gusted against his face and he had to hold his breath from the vaccuum of air. The penthouse was a walk away from the exit he'd just taken, and he walked toward it in awe. Whoever lived here _had_ to be rich.

It was a slightly cool night, and the colors came up clearly on the horizon—the gingery lights dotting the horizon lit up the indigo blushed sky, purple touching a pale orange, and disappeared into a sea of black bleached with white, shining dots. _Awesome_.

He reached the door and rang the bell. The door was open, but he didn't do more than steal a quick peak inside for the sake of privacy. _The sunrises and sunsets must be beautiful here_, he thought with a sigh. Nothing would better set the mood right now than a piano piece or even a violin piece. He thought about it for a short while, but remembered himself when his arms started to hurt from the weight of the container in his hands.

He knocked on the door this time and then gave another ring, hoping that it was repetitive enough for someone in, say, a shower to hear. Tentatively, after getting no response, he peaked his head in again through the open doorway. It was a brick-lined hallway, and he couldn't really see past it. He pouted, taking a step in and creeping forward. What if the person was hurt…? What if the place had been broken into and that's why the door was open?

The thought alone set him to action. He stepped forward quickly and walked around the large studio, worry clawing at him suddenly when he saw a slew of papers strewn about the floor. His knees wobbled when he saw a hand peaking from around the corner—_on the floor_! He rushed around the corner in panic and dropped to his knees when he saw a male with his chemise untucked and matching too closely to the color of his skin, his blue and green veins watering the paper-white of his skin and his chest rising and falling at an agonizing pace.

Naruto's throat closed up and his stomach crawled into his throat, making him shiver as he reached his hand forward. The guy's face was turned and his thick, coal black hair covered the contours of his face, and the stance alone worried the blond. He literally laid in a prone crucifixion and looked just as _dead_.

The blonde's tanned fingers touched at the jugular, and he felt it fine, strangely. He worriedly shook the man and nearly passed out when a pale hand clamped around his wrist tightly. He tried to pull away when the other sat up as if there was nothing at all wrong with him. The jet black hair shifted, and he could see his face.

A face he'd definitely seen before.

Sasuke's music was unbearably loud, he could admit, but he really wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, there was a thick division between his apartment and the apartments below, so it didn't bother his neighbors.

Composing music was no easy task. In order for him to get into it, though, he had to listen to music loudly for hours.

Sasuke couldn't relate himself too deeply to music. He was so disconnected with his surroundings that he found himself unable to relate to people. In fact, he had very little interest in much at all. Namely music. Why he ever decided to pursue music was beyond him. Maybe it was because he was just so good at it. That didn't mean he was _interested_ in it, though.

_Lies_, a voice aggravatingly similar to his brother said in his mind. _If you truly hated music, you wouldn't even tolerate it. You steep yourself in denial, Sasuke._

At first, he'd sat on the floor for over an hour with scrawled-in sheet music surrounding him, but had overturned every one of them with discontent at every failed attempt to write something evocative. He felt a blockade around him, closing off all means of connection to any concrete…_thing_.

So here he was, hours among hours later trying to compose music that was due for his midterm, just laying on his floor. He tried to feel anything from the music he was listening to. After two and half hours without inspiration, he started reminiscing. Doors were finally starting to crack open for him, small though they were, and he was ready to peer behind them in order to get in touch with his more intuitive side, but then he felt something touch his neck. He was slightly numb from having stayed still for so long, so he didn't react to the touch at first.

It was when he felt the hands start to roam for a grip that he recalled the fact that he most certainly lived _alone_ for the most part, and that there shouldn't _be_ anyone else here at the moment, even if his door _was_ open.

His eyes snapped open and he slapped a hand around the person's wrist. It could very well have been a robber, so caution was needed. He gritted his teeth angrily at his intruder and sat up stiffly, then cast his dark grey eyes on dilated, clear, worried—were there even enough adjectives to describe the blue eyes staring at him? He had to shake himself back to concentration when the wrist he'd grabbed tugged away from him.

Wait…

He knew that face. That wild, blond hair and those blue eyes—he knew them from somewhere. School.

"You," the raven said. Naruto was it? Whatever the name, he didn't react but stared at him instead as if he had two heads. He blinked and stiffened further, if at all possible, when he realized what his previous pose _may_ have looked like to Naruto. Squinting his eyes, he let go of the blond, who sat back instantly, clasping a hand on his chest. _He probably thought I was dead._

Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand while shaking his head, he turned over one of the sheets of paper on the floor, and stopped in thought. Wait, wait…

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked Naruto, who blinked at him. "How did you know where I live?" he added, gritting his teeth.

Naruto blinked at the raven and, after calming somewhat, shook himself and picked up the delivery box, which he'd put on the floor only moments ago.

Sasuke cocked his head slightly. "I didn't order anything," he murmured in rising irritation.

Naruto reached into his pocket, pulled out the receipt that Chouza had given him with the directions, and showed it to Sasuke, pointing at it, and the raven in returned grabbed it and looked over it for a moment.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he breathed out tensely. Leave it to his brother, Itachi, to do something like this. Once or twice a week, his brother (who was currently out of town for the next week or so) would order food for him—and he would pay!—to make sure that Sasuke didn't starve himself to death whenever he went out of town. Neither of them lived at their old home anymore, and Sasuke wasn't working, so Itachi was there to provide for him.

His thoughts were broken when Naruto then held his hand out to Sasuke as if asking for something from him.

Sasuke took his turn to blink at Naruto.

Was this guy serious? Naruto was almost ready to call 911 up until a minute ago…which…wouldn't help in retrospect, now that he thought about it, because he neither spoke nor could he hear. But that was how _serious_ he thought the situation was! But now that this guy (who looked familiar _by the way_…) was up and apparently fine, he wanted to get his tip, leave the food, and get back to the restaurant before his boss would worry. The food wasn't yet paid for, so he needed the compensation! He _especially_ deserved _more _after the scare he'd just gotten.

His eyes wandered at the paper in the raven's hand and he caught sight of what it was. _Music notes…?_ He quickly looked back up at the guy again and his memory kicked in. It was Sasu-something-or-another, right? His mouth dropped in shock just to know that he was currently in the same _room_ as one of his seniors! He smiled in uncontrolled excitement, pointing to his senior, and then pretended to stroke a violin, nodding his head.

Sasuke thinned his eyes at the blond, neither caring for his antics nor in the mood to decipher what Naruto meant (though he _could_ understand it), and reached into his pocket to pull out some money. Leave it to his damned brother to order the food for him but not pay for it _this time_. He handed Naruto the compensation, which the blond rejected at first upon knowing who he was.

"Just hurry up and get out," he mumbled angrily, pulling his hand away and opening the food container as his stomach tightened. Ah, Akimichiraku was probably the best food. He couldn't fault his brother on that particular decision…

Naruto pouted as he pocketed the money and then took out the food and set them on the nearest surface. _Now I'm feel like a beggar…_ Huh! This was a lot of food, he realized as he kept taking out bowl after bowl of different dishes. When he finished, he turned and noticed a sheet of music under his foot and bent down on his haunches to pick it up.

Sasuke sighed and put his hand through his hair as he picked up sheets of paper and organized them. The sound of paper being shuffled around alerted him, and he looked over his shoulder and saw the blond looking at one of the sheets curiously. He ripped the sheet of paper from the blonde's hand and hissed, "Don't touch my music," gathering the papers up quickly.

Naruto blinked at Sasuke, slightly taken aback by his abrasiveness, but courteously reached forward to help again, thinking nothing of it.

Sasuke gritted his teeth angrily and halted Naruto by wrapping his hand around the blonde's in an iron grip. Making sure the blond was looking directly at him, he said slowly and articulately, "Don't touch my music." He stood up. Naruto looked up at Sasuke in shock. "Get out of here," the raven said, pointing at the door.

Naruto stood up and numbly did as told, not understanding what he'd done wrong and scrambling up quickly and grabbing his things. He glanced at Sasuke meekly before bowing politely.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at himself. _Damn it, _he thought. He didn't have to be so...so rude. But just as quickly as the regret swept through him, he squashed it.

Naruto exited the apartment as quickly as he could, but turned too soon to see Sasuke look back up at him and say something. He ran down the small flight of steps, steaming with anger as he pushed the elevator button. After stepping in, he put down the thermal container and crossed his arms over his chest, drumming his fingers testily._ Oh my god, what a fucking prick…_ he thought angrily. Here he was, thinking that Sasu-whatever-his-name was _hurt_ or had been attacked, and the _ass_ just threw him out his apartment like that without so much as a thanks? Gah, crazy, he was going crazy!

His upperclassman just made Naruto's first work day end off on a bad note! Tch, crazy. He pedaled back to the restaurant after leaving the building and securing the container on the back of the bike.

That guy was _definitely_ scratched out of his book of life. And it was such a pity, too. He _looked_ like he was really nice on the surface. He probably _sounded_ like an uptight asshole. _Keh! I'm so mad!_ _Besides, he probably **sucks** at playing violin…or whatever_.

When he'd gotten back home later that night after work, Kiba took Naruto to a late-night arcade just to celebrate his first day on the job. He loved Kiba—the guy always knew what to do to make him feel better, and all he ever wanted to do was go out and have a good time. And good thing too!

By the end of their celebration, Naruto had forgotten anything that'd messed up his day. Even then, good things could not last.

**.**

**.o.**

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**(1) **It is common for many Asian cultures to poke at or point to their nose in a way similar to a Westerner pointing at himself in question.


	8. Part II: Agitato

**Comment**: I'm really glad that this story is making an impression on people. It especially makes me feel great when people tell me that they play or have played an instrument and they can relate to the emotions of the story.

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**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Agitato**

**.o.**

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Naruto barely rested over the weekend, and understandably so. He'd spent the whole day yesterday playing piano off and on because of his excitement for the upcoming week, so his arms genuinely felt sore. It was a good pain, though. He'd be a sadist for the piano any day, at any time. He was even too excited to sit still that Kiba and he went for a jog this morning in order to ease his fidgeting.

All in all, he was looking forward to today, where he would get his placement, get his classes, and he would be _absolutely_ surrounded with music. Kiba even took the morning off to accompany Naruto just to get him in the mode and help with translating. Today was paradise made manifest! So if all things were going so well…

How did he possibly explain the presence of the 'no touching' bastard standing not even ten feet away? In the same _office_? When _he_ was supposed to be meeting with Dean Orochimaru? Naruto glared at the raven again, pouting openly as his fingers gripped onto his armrests so he could keep his cool.

Kiba blinked but remained silent, shifting uneasily in his own seat. He could tell that there was some bad blood between these two. He felt like he was being hit on one side of his body with daggers, and on the other side he felt like someone was stabbing icicles into him. The tension was palpable.

Sasuke himself leaned against the bookshelf of the office with his arms crosses lazily over his chest and an instrument case leaning against his leg, eyeing the blond sitting a ways off from him without so much as a care in the world.

Kiba shifted in his seat again and looked up at the clock, which ticked and ticked and—_Damn it! This is so fucking awkward! _He cleared his throat, wanting to ease the tension. "'So…the two of you know each other?'" he asked with a weak laugh. Naruto nodded his head in anger and _glared_. "'Small world, eh…?'" he finished. _Oh my gosh, what did this guy do? It takes a **lot** of effort to make Naruto get this upset at anything…Maybe it won't last._

Sasuke glared at Kiba and clucked his tongue, sighing as he lazily rolled his neck to crack it. Why was he here? Last night, Iruka had called him up and asked him if he could do him a big, big…, **_big_** favor, but didn't detail him. Why he even agreed he doesn't know. He certainly didn't owe anything to the professor.

"I apologize for my being late." Orochimaru pushed up his glasses and closed the door after Iruka came in behind him. "Iruka and I were finishing up the course schedule for Mr. Uzumaki."

Iruka hurriedly trailed after Orochimaru and Kiba collapsed back in his seat in relief. He was certain that if someone hadn't intervened in the next minute or so, the room would have spontaneous combust. Naruto's attitude completely changed and he smiled at the professor and waved at him enthusiastically. Iruka waved back and then looked over to Sasuke, pointing to the empty seat next to Naruto. "Sasuke, please, take a seat as well. You're involved in this matter."

Sasuke had to hold himself back from growling, but he certainly didn't suppress the glare that he sent to Iruka, who'd turned his back, as he picked up his case and sat next to Naruto. He rolled his eyes again when the blonde hissed his teeth and edged away from him. _What a brat…_ He expected maturity from someone who was out of high school._  
_

"Well then," Orochimaru began. He turned to Kiba in curiosity. "Ah, and you are?"

Kiba jumped to attention and answered, "Oh I'm Naruto's translator, Inuzuka Kiba. I'm just here for today. Um, out of curiosity, is there _going_ to be a translator or aide for Naruto provided like he had before?"

Iruka cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head suspiciously.

"We'll get to that soon, Mr. Inuzuka," Orochimaru replied. "Mr. Uzumaki, Professor Iruka and I have seen fit to place you in the freshman _advanced_ classes based on the skills that you have shown in your auditions."

Sasuke crossed his legs and folded his hands on his knee. The foot of his rested leg tapped the air to an involuntary tempo and he rolled his eyes long-sufferingly. What did this have to do with him, again? He was dreading the thought of it.

Orochimaru continued. "You have proven to us that you can play in a very…hmm…energetic and unique way, yet you had a bit of a problem adapting to the second song you played as far tempo goes, which is probably due to your inability to hear, but should not necessarily be excused. Because of this, we felt that you need to have extra aide to help you with these specifics."

Sasuke's foot stopped and he sat rigidly in his seat. _Don't tell me…_

"Iruka has generously volunteered to help you with this aspect. Aside from having private classes with you _already_, he has volunteered to set aside six _extra_ hours within each week at your arrangement to further help you."

Sasuke relaxed into the seat again. He uncrossed his legs and switched, crossing his other his leg over the other, tapping the air with his foot in relief. _Hnh._

Iruka grinned as he leaned against the desk and put his hand on his chin. "I'm going to be a tough tutor, but you'll benefit from my extra help," he said with a nod.

Naruto smiled. He really liked Iruka. He seemed the type of person to really care about the situation and not the money behind it—after all he _was_ doing this for free, the extra tutoring. To have a personal tutor for _free_ was priceless!

Orochimaru continued. "Now as you may or may not know, there are ten different major studies in the music department and an extra curricular course that is required of all students to take, so at _least_ by the end of your second year you have to declare one of these studies as your majors. I'm sure you'll choose piano. Of all of these majors, you are required to take one course in each major and for some of them up to three."

Naruto waited for Kiba to finish translating and then nodded in understanding at the dean.

Orochimaru sat back and continued. "For your first semester, you have been placed in Early Music I with Kurenai, History of Western Music I with Ibiki, and Piano I with Iruka, aside from your two general education classes, which I left in your schedule. Those two classes involve intense note-taking and might involve a few mandatory trips. We don't want you to be lost and lose out on very essential points. Since Haruno Sakura still has general education classes with you Naruto, she has agreed to continue helping you with those classes. Mr. Uchiha, however, has the availability to aid you. He will be filling in the role of your student aid in the music department."

Naruto's eyes widened.

Sasuke sat forward in his seat. "Pardon me?" he asked. "I was not consulted about this."

"Oh, come now, Sasuke," Iruka interrupted with minor irritation, his voice and features still gentle. "Juniors have the most flexible schedules. You know this. The two of you have coinciding schedules," Iruka illustrated, interlocking his fingers together.

_I don't want this_, the raven thought. "I would like to decline," he said abruptly, trying to remain as civil as possible. He certainly never had a hand in watching over someone, and he wouldn't do so now.

"Please, now, Mr. Uchiha, we would value your cooperation," the dean said, sitting back and pressing his finger tips together. He then gestured to Naruto, who _still_ sat staring at them in shock. "I didn't think it would be of your nature to deny someone in need."

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, they will **not** pull out the pity card on my part_, Naruto thought, gritting his teeth. _And why do I always end up being a bystander?_

"Please, Dean Orochimaru, do not get me wrong. His _needs _are not what matter," Sasuke hissed, leaning forward in his seat in aggravation. _I don't have time to be a babysitter, damn it! _In all honesty, he _did_ have spare time. Patience was what he _didn't_ have. Or a care. "His deafness is not the issue."

"No wonder Naruto _hates_ you," Kiba murmured (purposed, of course, for only the Uchiha to hear). "You're a total _ass_."

Sasuke glared testily at Kiba, daring him to go any further. _This is nonsense!_ He then added, "As I said before, I was never conferred to, and I'm not in agreement with this arrangement."

"Ah, Mr. Inuzuka, was it?" Iruka asked as he pushed himself away from the desk. "If you would be so kind as to step out with Naruto, I would really appreciate it," the professor suggested gently. "I need to have a quick word with Mr. Uchiha…"

Naruto pursed his lips together in irritation but got up and left with Kiba following suit. When the door behind them was closed, Naruto shook his fist at it. «What a jerk!» he said to Kiba, who could only nod in agreement (as he was trying to catch snippets of the conversation on the other side of the door). «And he totally ruined my good mood—again!»

«Again?» Kiba replied, opting to sign so that he wouldn't disturb the three on the other side. «So you know him?»

«Well I met him once before, _here_. And he was fine then, but on Saturday I delivered food to his house. He was total _ass_!»

Kiba made to respond, but the door opened and Sasuke stepped out of the room, looking both vexed and perturbed, like he'd just lost a battle. _That was fast_, he thought in surprise. Orochimaru, with a folder in hand, stepped out after Iruka and faced Naruto. "Like I said before, Naruto, Sasuke will be your aid." He then grinned at the two. "Please refrain from _maiming_ each other. Am I clear?"

Sasuke didn't look at Naruto as the dean clarified more things to the blond about his classes, but he chose instead to stand far off. He stared at Naruto, who looked intently at the Kiba person's hands, from time to time turning to the professors and nodding. The blond was a curious thing, really. He was clearly a foreigner, but he possessed a Japanese name. His blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin were everything in _opposition_ to the average dark-haired, dark-eyed, pale-skinned Japanese person. He even spoke Japanese with a clarity that allowed him to know the nuances of sign language. He was deaf, yet he played music. He was a paradox if ever Sasuke saw one.

_Damn blond._

"Sasuke?" Iruka repeated.

Sasuke focused his attention on the professor, coming back to his senses. The dean had already gone back inside his office.

"Sasuke, this is a copy of Naruto's schedule," Iruka continued with a smile. "Naruto's first class will begin in about twenty minutes, so please hurry."

Sasuke took the schedule begrudgingly, mumbling incoherencies under his breath.

Iruka's smile dropped, and he hissed, "Did you say something, Sasuke?"

Sasuke thinned his eyes at his mood-changing teacher and shook his head. The man could go from hot to cold in the blink of an eye.

"Well then," Iruka said with another smile, putting his hands on Naruto's and Sasuke's shoulder, "I trust that the two of you will get along just well." He squeezed Sasuke's shoulder particularly painfully.

Sasuke resisted the urge to shimmy his shoulder from the professor's hand, but waited, instead, until the professor bid them luck and walked away, leaving him with Kiba and Naruto. He peered over at Naruto for a second and rolled his eyes again, murmuring to himself, "I can't believe they conned me into this shit…"

Naruto took a good look at his new schedule and then shook his fisted hands in uncontained excitement, shaking the paper in front of Kiba like a child showing off a drawing to his parent or teacher. He took it upon himself to start walking slowly to his next class, looking up at every classroom number as he passed a door.

Kiba trailed behind Naruto, and Sasuke just shook his head.

"Uchiha, right?" Kiba began, perturbing the raven slightly. Naruto wasn't paying attention to them, walking ahead slightly. "I swear it—don't do anything to screw Naruto over or else I'll fuck you up so badly."

Sasuke was slightly thrown by the statement, but definitely not threatened. He was not a person to be challenged. He chuckled. "I doubt that, first of all. Secondly, just tell your friend that he'll mind to keep his distance from me. I haven't patience for him—" He stiffened against the wall where Kiba pushed him, holding his free hand up and glowering. "Excuse me?" he asked pointedly. There was no reason for Kiba to be touching him.

"Naruto's damn smart, and he can damn well take care of himself! He just can't _hear_. So trust me, if you do anything to sabotage him, it'll be your ass."

Sasuke smirked condescendingly at Kiba, baiting him. "Seems like you own his." If it hadn't been for Naruto's sudden intervention, Sasuke would very well have been sporting a bruise. But as it was, Naruto was holding back Kiba's fist.

Kiba backed off from Sasuke and he and Naruto exchanged a flurry of gestures between the two of them. Kiba gritted his teeth, took another hateful glance at Sasuke, and walked the other way towards the nearest exit without another word.

The raven was somewhat awed by Kiba's sudden exit, but he stopped short at Naruto's hard glare. It seeped into every pore and shook him up slightly. It became a battle of wills, though, because he had a glare that could rival, if not overpower, Naruto's very own. He found it all too immature to stand in the hall and have a glaring contest and questioned his reasoning on even engaging in it in the first place. He rolled his eyes, passed the blond, and Naruto pumped his fist in victory behind him.

_Like I thought: an immature son of a bitch._

By the time they'd reached the class, Naruto had gotten over his initial dislike of Sasuke in the stead of nursing those cocoons ready to hatch in his stomach. He stood in front of the door to his classroom nervously. The walk here had be bad enough, with some people staring at him and openly saying things about him as he passed them in the halls. If he hadn't been mistaken, a couple of the girls even looked slightly upset with him.

Truth be told, his performance on Saturday made him gain some notoriety, and he had the feeling that the only accolades he would receive were from staff, and not particularly his fellow students. He'd learned long ago that people were none too thrilled whenever a foreigner would reign in on their turf. As for him, he had his 'foreign' status against him on top of his deafness.

But that was nothing to worry about. This was it! He was in front of the classroom. He was now in the world of real music classes! He'd never had those before. And _real _music teachers! And being around wonderful people who were just as passionate about music as he was—

A small, young woman with bobbed hair sat on the floor with her books and papers strewn about her, and Naruto bent down to help her on instinct.

"Ah, I—I'm sorry! I d-didn't m-mean to. Oh—oh, th-thank you!" The girl nearly flushed purple when Naruto gathered her papers and picked them up for her. She averted her grey eyes when the blond just stared at her. "S…sorry for inconve-inconveniencing you," she murmured, placing a delicate little hand on her forehead, perturbed. Blinking up at him, she quickly ducked into the classroom, leaving behind her music book in Naruto's hand.

Naruto stole a glance at Sasuke, who watched with disinterest. The raven merely shook his head and walked into the classroom. Another person bumped into him, turned to their classmate, and whispered something as they entered the class. It made him all nervous. The butterflies were hatched in him.

Bravely he walked in behind Sasuke, ignoring the obvious stares thrown in his directions, unaware that while he certainly was drawing attention, eyes were also rapt on his counterpart. He spied out the row that small girl was sitting in, and as soon as he caught sight of her, he sauntered over to her, shimmied himself between the seats, and placed her book down in front of her, poking it with his finger purposefully.

"Is he serious? He's approaching that Stutter-Girl! Oh my gosh, her cousin will slice her in half…"

"Ah, cute, she's blushing?"

"Damn him!"

The young female looked up at Naruto and turned away quickly, turning bright red as she fingered the book. "Th—thank you," she said slowly, splaying her hand against. "I...I didn't realize I'd le—" she paused, "left it behind."

"You _do _know that he's deaf, no?" someone asked from behind Naruto, his voice low and raspy.

The girl looked past the blond and worried her eyebrows as she responded, "Ne—Neji…!" She averted her eyes and then held her book tightly to her chest. "I know, but—but I've heard that he can…can r-re-read—"

"Don't make a fool of yourself, Hinata. Please don't talk right now, or people will laugh at you," her cousin said genuinely, grey eyes washing over the classroom quickly as some people started chuckling. The words were cruel, but even more so was the treatment she'd received over the years for her stuttering problem. He was merely saving her from heartache.

Her large eyes turned downward and she blinked. "O…Okay," she mumbled, getting red in the face with embarrassment.

Naruto stepped back to see the both of them. Were they related? They both had the same grey eyes! He gave a short wave at the male standing in front of him, but was taken aback when the student absolutely turned away and brushed him off, sitting next to the girl. He blinked and frowned at him, scratching at a sideburn. Was no one willing to talk to him?

"Oh my gosh, why is Sasuke here?"

"I thought he already took this class as a freshman!"

"Did you go to the concert on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, most _definitely_. Wah, Sasuke is_ hot_. He's so suave. And he played so well!"

Sasuke curled his lip at the people mumbling, walking past Naruto and completely surprising the blond when he grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him to the seat farthest from the front of the class room. These people disgusted him. They didn't care at all about his skills. He had a pretty face, and that was all they could think about.

"Gah! No way! Why is that deaf kid with him?"

"They came in together, didn't they!"

Naruto blinked at them, his eyebrows shooting up in interest, and he waved at the students that dared to look straight at him with a large grin on his face. He pouted when Sasuke plopped him into the nearest seat. This classroom was _too_ large. He couldn't sit this far back.

Sasuke rested his forehead in his palm after he sat down, shaking his head and promising death upon all these stupid freshmen and sophomores. He would have thought they were past these kinds of obsessions now.

"Excuse me…Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up begrudgingly and glared ice-picks into the girl that approached them. The girl froze and mumbled something, walking away dejectedly.

It took all of Sasuke's willpower to not walk out of the classroom right now. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he pulled out a notebook and pencil and sat with his free hand gripping tightly onto the roots of his hair. He was at his wits end, with people chattering about him (and he was _right there_, mind you!) and wondering why he was there, especially with the Naruto guy.

"I wonder if he didn't do well in this class? Maybe had to take it over…"

"Oh my god, don't even _suggest_ something like that! Sasuke's a genius!"

"Yeah, but even the most talented people don't always—"

"Anyway, I want to know about that new kid, and why he came in with Sasuke! So I guess he really did switch majors! I dunno, I think he's kind of cute..."

"No way! He's deaf!"

The pencil in Sasuke's hand was going to break in half in _two more seconds_. His hair was going to rip out the roots. Pain was rippling about his scalp at how _hard_ he was grabbing onto his hair.

"Well I heard that he's now a piano major!"

"Settle down, students."

"_What? _I don't believe that!"

"Just seeing his face totally _pisses_ me off. My sister's best friend was too late to do her review! To let some foreigner just slide in here is unnacceptable!"

"I don't want to have to say it again! Settle down and get in your seats!"

"I bet it's only because he's deaf that they accepted him. It's called pity."

"Yeah…but…I don't know. He's sort of _cute_…"

He couldn't take this anymore! On top of Naruto looking around the classroom innocently and grinning at everyone with that seemingly enduring smile, not knowing that he was the subject of everyone's conversation, and those _stupid fucking termites _talking like they had nothing better to do, he was seriously going to lay some damage on someone _right _now. He was going to scream. He suddenly bolted upright, startling Naruto next to him.

"**_Settle_**_ **down**_! Class is starting _now_!" the professor at the front desk yelled, hands splayed against his desktop. "So help me, if you brats don't _sit down **now**_, I'm giving you all failing grades for your midterm!"

Ah, Ibiki. There was something about the man that Sasuke was fond of. Watching the students rush to their seats, like watching ants scattering from a bird, was so gratifying to him.

Ibiki looked around the classroom for a good few seconds, shaking his head in shame. "And you call yourselves adults," he murmured, picking up a copy of his roster and handing it to the student closest to him so that each member of the class could vouch for his or her presence. He looked quickly at his roster, and when he'd finally reached Naruto's name, he looked up for that shock of blond hair. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto by this time, was playing a game on his digi-pad in boredom.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke nudged the blond rather harshly, and Naruto glared at him, then looked to the front of the classroom when Sasuke jutted his chin in that direction.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto squinted at the professor, then slowly raised his hand.

"Sasuke, you and Naruto should sit closer to the front."

Sasuke suppressed a glare at the professor, shaking his head slightly in irritation as he picked up his things. Naruto looked over at him curiously, then at Ibiki. He put two and two together and picked up his things as well.

Sasuke settled himself in the third row quickly, nearly growling in irritation when the girl next to him turned to her friend and made a sound of excitement. _God_, this was going to be the longest hour-and-a-half class that he _ever _had the displeasure of sitting through.

**.o.**

When the class was finally over, Sasuke ripped out the sheets of notes from his notebook and gave them to Naruto. _Damn it, _he thought. He decided that next time he would use his laptop to get Naruto's notes down. Afterwards the two would go to the computer lab and print out the notes. Standing up and grabbing his case, he clicked his tongue. He should have dropped it off earlier in his locker. Now it was going to be a load and a half to carry around. He ignored the girls passing him with their 'Goodbye, Sasukes' and just pulled out the schedule, reading over it. Naruto stole a glance at the schedule as well.

_Relief. _He handed the schedule to Naruto. This was the only class he had to accompany Naruto for the day. The other one was a General Education. class, so Sakura could take the reins.

The raven packed his things and planned on making his way to the practice room to play for an or so hour before his _own_ classes started.

Before Sasuke could even walk away, though, Naruto tapped him gently on his shoulder. He turned and glared at Naruto, who held up his digi-pad for him to read.

'I just texted Sakura,' it wrote, 'Our class doesn't start until one. Do you wanna have lunch with us or something?'

Sasuke squinted at the message and then looked up at Naruto suspiciously. _No_, he _didn't_ want to have lunch with them. He'd rather gnaw his hand off. He mouthed the word 'No' to Naruto, but his body obviously hated him. His stomach growled at the inopportune moment, and he put his hand on it to quell the sound.

He hadn't eaten breakfast…

Naruto squinted at him dubiously at the face Sasuke had just made. Of course, he didn't _hear_ Sasuke's stomach growl, but the _face_ was enough. _And_ the hand on his stomach. Naruto scribbled something down on the digi-pad and showed it to Sasuke. 'I'll pay,' it said.

Sold.

**.o.**

"My, my, I can't believe _the_ Sasuke is currently eating lunch with _us_," Ino said enthusiastically. She looked over to the raven and fawned over him for a moment, in which he glowered at her, then turned to Sakura and gave a wink.

Correction: Sasuke was sitting at the table _next_ to them, eating by _himself_. If that damn blond hadn't offered to pay for his lunch, he wouldn't be here now. He much preferred to eat in solitude.

What was more, occasionally someone sauntered over to the table to approach Sasuke, ready to talk to him. That was, they were ready to talk to him until, for some reason or another, he tighteend his hand around his plastic fork quietly. It was enough to make the person walk away.

It made Naruto snicker silently every time he did it. It seemed somewhat childish. Each time, then Sasuke would turn over to him and glare. And Naruto would just grin right back at him before slurping up some more of his jjajangmyeon noodles.

Sasuke sighed, glancing quickly at Sakura, and stood up with his empty tray in hand, slinging the belt of his case around him.

"You're leaving so soon, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, looking up at the raven curiously as he stepped toward the garbage.

He shrugged his shoulder to indicate the case he was carrying and simply muttered, "Practice."

"Oh, alright then. Sasuke, it was nice having lunch with you," the strawberry-blonde said with a slight smile. "…Maybe we can have lunch again sometime?" she asked hopefully. Suffice it to say, she and Sasuke hadn't seen much of each other for a very long time. She wanted to catch up.

"Hm," he considered with a gentle nod. "Bye. You too, Ino." The raven quickly turned about. While he could certainly tolerate Sakura, he had enough of awkward situations for the day, and he didn't think he could deal with more right now.

There was an incessant knocking on the table and then a clap, so he instinctively turned around.

Naruto had turned in his seat and was now facing Sasuke. The blond opened his mouth _as if_ to say something, which Sasuke thought of as strange, but instead he settled on scratching the back of his head uneasily.

"What?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

Naruto pursed his lips and then started signing. Sasuke, of course, not understanding, squinted at the blond in irritation, shaking his head slightly in exasperation.

"Oh, Sasuke!" Sakura started. "Naruto just asked me to say this to you." She paused, tilting her head slightly as she played with the food in her plate, staring at it instead of Sasuke when he looked at her pointedly. "Um, he just wants to thank you for actually helping him with his classes. He's going to try his best not to be a hindrance to you. Also, you're forgiven for the last time."

Huh. Well. _Huh_.

What response could he possibly give to that? As much as he disliked this arrangement, nothing could warrant a rude response to such, ah, genuine words. So what could he say? Generally, he would say something on the lines of 'Whatever' or 'Fuck off'. Should he? No, because he'd seem like an ass, which, well, he _was _to an extent. He glanced at the blond and slightly squinted, and Naruto, in return, looked up at Sasuke from his seat pointedly, as if expecting something.

Wait. Wait…

_Is_ this that awkward moment we're he's supposed to apologize the other night? Because as far as he was concerned, he was justified in his actions.

Naruto looked at him as if _waiting_ for that apology. _I just thanked him!_ he thought. True, Naruto didn't like this arrangement _one bit_, having Sasuke as his aide. But he was not the sort to complain. He would rather bear through it. And, Hell, he was pretty sure that he would get over it in another day or so. Besides, at least they _had_ someone to help him, right? He signed again, slowly spelling out 'Thank you'.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura again for a translation.

"He said thank you again."

The raven simply shrugged it off, saying clearly and honestly, "I'm really not doing this for you. I wouldn't do it at all if I wasn't getting anything out of it," he retorted honestly. Perhaps that had been too honest. He turned his back to walk away, not seeing the stunned looks on _all _of their faces. He shook his head. He made his decision. He was _not _going to do this, _despite_ the enticing reward.

Really, he just wanted to go to Iruka and totally turn this—

He stopped in his tracks, tilting his head slightly.

_What. The fuck. Was that?_

He slowly looked over his shoulder, saw a large, dark stain with noodles hanging from it—jjajangmyeon—and turned back to Naruto, quirking his eyebrows at him. That didn't just happen.

Naruto gave the raven a rude, one fingered gesture. Yes, it—and the rest of his hand—was _covered_ in the dark sauce. «Excuse me for being such a fucking inconvenience to you, asshole!» he signed, even though Sasuke wouldn't understand him.

Sasuke was speechless, unaware that _all _eyes in the café right now were trained on him and the blond. He wordlessly stalked toward the blond, who stood up from _his _seat.

Sakura and Ino stared in shock, disbelief running through both of their minds. On top of Sasuke's bold statement and Naruto's brash retort, they couldn't think to stop this train wreck from getting worse.

There is an unspoken rule forbidding people to_ attack_ someone who's disabled. It's unethical, right? Well, Sasuke did just so, grabbing Naruto tightly by his collar and pushing him bodily him into the nearest wall. Hard. "Don't joke around with me," the raven hissed slowly.

"Naruto!"

Naruto bared his teeth at Sasuke, baiting him to go any further, _daring_ him to punch him. He wasn't_ wrong,_ was he? He wasn't the only one _seeing _this, was he? First, Sasuke was a total _ass_ to him the other night, _after_ he'd given the blond the biggest scare he could possibly have given anyone. Secondly, he just made that _rude_ comment when _all he had to say was a fucking **thank you**_. And people _worshipped_ this guy?

Sasuke had Naruto against the wall, eyes so thinned at him that they may as well have been closed. "Consider this arrangement terminated hitherto," he hissed, not caring if Naruto could understand him or not.

Naruto naturally retaliated, bodily shoving Sasuke away from him, grabbing his jacket, and angrily throwing his food in the garbage. He took another glare at Sasuke, cursing him silently, and stomped out of the cafe. It wasn't supposed to have been such a bad day, but _damn it_, it seemed to get worse by the minute.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**(1) Jjajangmyeon - a delicious looking Korean dish that consists of wheat noodles and soybean paste/sauce, sometimes supplemented with vegetables and meats/seafood.  
**

**Comment**: Thank you for reading.


	9. Part II: Drone

**Comment**: You make me feel loved. Beware that there is a slight jump within time in the plot.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Drone**

**.o.**

**.  
**

By the time Naruto arrived home from work, all of the pent up emotions within him had bubbled up and he needed to vent them _now._ He needed Kiba right now, whether to talk to him or to have someone to pummel with a video game. He slammed the entrance door behind him and threw his backpack across the room. Not only did he have to take Sasuke's _shit_, but his day didn't get _any better_ from there, and he honestly hadn't thought that was possible. At first nothing bad happened. But then he started noticing things that were far too prominent to be taken as coincidental. Take, for instance, his walk from one hall to another. He'd walked down the hall with Sakura (who'd caught up to him only moments after he'd stormed out of the café), and a girl bumped into him from behind. That was fine; he just silently apologized to the person and went on his way.

When it happened again a minute later, he excused himself again silently. He remember when he was younger, his mother used to tell him something peculiar.

_"Naruto, you're like the sun, my son," _she would say with adoration. She would glide her fingers through his hair gently, and rest her chin on his head. _"You have so much warmth. You're my sunny boy." _She would repeat the words and wrap her arms tightly around him.

He didn't know why he thought about it right now. Maybe because he was attracting a lot of people to him at moment. He was sure that he didn't have a gravitational pull, but quite a few people were bumping into him, some of whom looked at him degradingly and quite violently despite his apologies.

It took Sakura growling angrily at the next persons that even _looked_ like they were walking towards Naruto for the bumping to stop.

During his class, of course, there was no bumping into him. But when the professor first turned her back to the students to write something on the board, not just _one _some_ thing_ had hit Naruto. A whole _slew_ of _paraphernalia_ fell in a nice halo around his desk. Now he was Saturn? And, of course, when the professor had turned around, he was the person who was blamed for the mess.

Not to mention that most of these culprits were of the _female_ gender, so it wasn't as if Naruto could retaliate physically (which he damn well would have). He was sure that these kinds of things didn't happen in college, but perhaps bullying was a permanent factor of life.

Naruto tousled his hair angrily just _thinking _about it! News obviously spread very quickly throughout the campus, and apparently a lot of people really _did_ love Sasuke! _What was more_, at work, he'd taken a misstep and accidentally dropped water—_just some water!—_on some man who proceeded to give him an earful about how horrible his service was and how he should have better assistance. Sometimes Naruto was _damn glad_ that he was deaf.

There were other things that happened at work, too, but he didn't even want to _think_ about them at the moment.

All in all, today was bad _from the start_. It wasn't supposed to be that way, either.

Akamaru yowled and sauntered over to the fuming blond, jumping on the couch and crawling under Naruto's hand.

Naruto chuckled half-heartedly and pet the fox, taking a look at the time. When was Kiba coming back? He closed his eyes, plopping the fox on his lap and waiting for Kiba to come home for work or school. He rested his eyes a bit.

The brunet came about 15 or so minutes later, which Naruto was alerted by when Akamaru jolted upright under his hand. Naruto opened his eyes, looked up, and saw Kiba trudge in tiredly. "Hey, Naruto," Kiba said, blinking slowly. He looked like he was going to fall asleep where he stood. "How were your classes?"

Naruto pouted at Kiba, unable to start by saying something on the lines of, 'Everything was fucked up today.' He simply answered by waving his hand horizontally in a 'so-so' manner. Seeing how tired his friend was, he didn't want to trouble him.

_Kiba has a hard job on him, too_, Naruto thought. _I can't always weigh him down with my problems. I'll just stick this out on my own for now._

«Work?» Naruto asked when Kiba sighed. «Was it hard?»

Kiba rolled his eyes. "'Like you wouldn't _believe_,'" he answered exasperatedly, plopping on the couch weightily next to the blond. He threw his head back and let out a long groan, ending it by lacing his fingers through his hair, tousling the dark mane, and slapping his hands onto his knees.

Then he proceeded to tell Naruto his work day. From where the conversation was going, the blond was able to understand that Kiba's boss was a total slave driver. Above being a _slave driver_, Kiba's boss was making the brunet do things that seemed to be jobs for the manager to handle. Kiba was only the assistant manager. On top of _that_, Kiba was taking courses at Tokyo Institute of Technology. For _engineering_, of all things. He wanted to go into _**pharmaceutical **__engineering! _All of those mathematic classes that he was taking this semester were trying.

The conversation had ended with Kiba conking out on Naruto. The blond had gone to the bathroom for only two minutes or so, but when he returned, Kiba was sprawled out on the seat. He woke up the brunet and half-dragged Kiba to their bedroom and plopped him down on the floor on his futon. Normally he would force Kiba to at least shower; instead, he peeled off the brunet's clothes and walked out of the room.

He currently found himself, under the spray of the shower head. He reflected on his day and compared them to Kiba's. He certainly wasn't being forced to take on all this work from his boss like Kiba was. The manager would find ways to leave the store a few hours before his shift was over, leaving Kiba to do paperwork and tasks that weren't his. Also, Tokyo Institute of Technology was not an easy place to attend. The amount of work that Kiba had to do outside of school was inconceivable.

_My problems seem so small compared to Kiba's…_ Naruto thought after a long, drawn out yawn. _Mine are like child play compared to his. Besides…I won't be able to rely on Kiba forever. It's not like I can always tell him what's happening on my side._

With that thought, he finished washing himself up, entered his room, and laid down on on futon. He sighed and closed his eyes, anticipating the next day, where he would only have classes with Sakura and finally start playing piano with Iruka.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto trudged into the music room behind Iruka tiredly. He would admit that the foul treatment from everyone had eased up. But it was very difficult to concentrate on his class when he could _feel_ people glaring all over him.

This was just ridiculous.

Sasuke had so many followers, and he couldn't understand why. Beyond recognizing Sasuke as a musician, the students were probably in love with his physical features. Sure Sasuke wasn't exactly the most talkative of persons, but Naruto was very doubtful that they knew the _real_ person Sasuke was. Just thinking about the situation and how out of hand it'd become made the blond shake his head in irritation. He was more than willing to bet that if he were to expose Sasuke for the Lucifer that he was, everyone would probably hate him.

_Probably_. For some reason, girls were attracted to jerks…

He shook his head to bring himself to attention when he saw Iruka waving frantically at him. He wrote an apology to the teacher on his digi-pad and Iruka just waved his hand in dismissal.

"Don't worry about it," Iruka slowly said with a smile. "How are you coping with your classes so far?" he asked in concern.

Naruto waved his hand horizontally and Iruka chuckled.

Iruka looked up for a second in thought, as if trying to remember something, and then looked pointedly at Naruto. "'I'm learning sign language,'" he said slowly, struggling to remember which hand positions he should make. He was unaware that the simple gestures dialed Naruto's mood from sour to elated.

'Wow! I'm very impressed, Professor Iruka!' Naruto wrote quickly, showing the screen to the professor as he beamed. 'How are you learning?'

Iruka chuckled shyly in exasperation, not even attempting to answer the blond in sign language. "I have a few DVDs that I bought on Friday that I'm learning from," he answered articulately, trying to gesture his way through the sentence.

Naruto nodded, soundlessly making an "Oh" of understanding. 'You're a very dedicated person, Professor Iruka. I'm touched, really. If ever you want me to teach you something, please_ ask_.'

Iruka pushed Naruto lightly in embarrassment, gushing madly at the praise. He pulled the contents out of his bag and placed them atop the piano, leaning his hip against the large instrument and placing one hand on his opposite hip. He placed his hand on the folder he'd put on the piano, facing Naruto. "Now, you've already proved to the dean and me and Ibiki that you _are_ skilled at the piano. Now I need to test more specific things. I would like to test out how well you do with sight reading."

Naruto's heart sped up at the suggestion. He hadn't gotten _all_ of what Iruka had said, but he most _definitely_ picked up on the 'sight reading' part. He was hoping that Iruka would be aware that he was _not_ a master at sight reading. Far from it, in fact…

Naruto blinked and waited for Iruka to set the music and metronome on the ledge. When Naruto caught sight of the music, he blanched. _What the fuck is **this** nonsense? _It was complicated! Sure he could play complicated pieces, like he'd done for his first audition. But he was _used _to Edward MacDowell. This, he'd never seen before in his life.

Iruka pointed to the seat, and Naruto tentatively sat down. When he saw the teacher point to the treble clef, he understood that Iruka wanted to know if he knew what major the piece was written in. He answered by pressing his fingers against the eight keys.

"Good," Iruka said as he nodded. "Now, follow the metronome and start."

Naruto sighed, stooping over the piano, and bit at his lip. He took a moment to stare at the music and then looked over at the metronome to get a feel of the pace. After a moment, he began with the music.

Iruka stood back and crossed his arms, watching Naruto intently as the blond began to play. He taught piano for years, so he knew a deficiency when he saw one. It became painful to watch Naruto struggle. The blond had been placed in advanced classes, but it was obvious that his skills were intermediate.

The blond forgot about the metronome and began playing the music in varying paces. What began as a nice piece soon turned sloppy and jagged. And he could tell that Naruto was frustrated, because the blond would intermittently pause, drop his head slightly to catch back up with the metronome, and then continue. The most devastating thing that Iruka saw was that Naruto's fingering technique was choppy an miscalculated, causing him to clumsily twist his fingers in a way that made the successive notes more difficult to play then they really should have been.

These intricacies of the instrument were imperative to learn. He wondered if Naruto ever had any _formal _training.

Naruto was quite horrible at sight reading. But Iruka had suspected that this would be the case as far as tempo was concerned. The professor, seeing Naruto's growing frustration, put his hand on the blonde's shoulder to make him stop. Naruto looked up at him in question. _Okay, I have to do this the right way. I'm a professor, but I also have to remember that he's deaf. I can't be __**too**__ critical on him. _"That was…ah…"

Naruto sighed in aggravation with himself, scratching at his scalp in agitation. He turned back to the piano and tried again from the beginning to play the piece. He puckered his lips and played the music, trying again to follow the tempo of the metronome. There were some parts that were off beat, and those were what threw him. There were parts where he had to pause for two or so measures, but in his impatience, he didn't wait the amount of time allotted for those measures and hastily continued. There were parts that indicated that he play sweetly or tenderly, but his pace overlooked those suggestions. He wasn't taking his time with the music.

Patience was his biggest foible.

Playing the piece without any prior practice was most definitely against his favor. He stopped when Iruka placed his hand on the edge of the piano and tapped it again in slight agitation.

_This is not going to be easy…_ Iruka thought. Once again, this was a concerto piece. He was testing Naruto's ability to play along with other instruments. As far as he could tell, Naruto needed a lot of training in this aspect, and he wouldn't be able to play a duet or concerto for few months. _His deafness...really makes a difference, _the professor thought. Had Naruto lucked his way into the music program?

No, he certainly hadn't. Naruto certainly had a lot of skill. He merely had his weaknesses, and Iruka couldn't fault the blond on that. Everyone had a weakness. "I have a few questions to ask you," the professor asked after he got Naruto's attention.

**.o.**

Naruto had left the music room far more depressed than he'd thought he would be. Sure, he knew that Iruka would find out from the beginning that he wasn't _that_ great, but Iruka looked like he was extremely troubled and disappointed by the time they were done. The series of questions he asked Naruto made the professor more and more disturbed when he heard the answers.

_'No, I'm not too familiar with sight-reading.'_

_'No, I'm not too familiar with that musical term. Not that one either. No, I don't know that one...'  
_

_'No I've never done extensive piano exercises._'

"_So I take it you've never had a recital," Iruka had finally asked.  
_

_'One, when I was 6. A few people from town came.'_

That was when he was...a lot younger. It was before his parents—

Before things changed.

When Iruka had learned that Naruto had only been formally trained for about half a year, that was _it_. Naruto may as well had told him that he was _blind_ on top of being deaf. It was an undeniable fact that Naruto was _good_. Hell, maybe with the right teaching it just could be that Naruto was a phenomenon. That didn't make him well-trained, though. That being the case, Naruto's talent had been swept under a rug and significantly disregarded.

He'd been held back.

That thought _alone_ made the professor heat up with anger. Hadn't his _parents _ever made him embrace his talent? The answer was a probable—definite—_no_, that they didn't. So now it was up to him to draw out the potential that was confined within Naruto. The thought of summoning such an enormous talent as Naruto's was enough to make Iruka excited, yet it sobered him. He wanted to do _more_ to help Naruto out, as if he wasn't doing enough in the first place. It really _was_ exciting that he'd be the one to pull this out of Naruto.

That brought up a debate: How far reaching would his success with Naruto be? Would Naruto, in the end, become so frustrated with himself that he would lose his will and desire to play? In his brooding, Iruka didn't realize that, to Naruto, he'd come off as upset, angry, annoyed. He was merely sat in the chair, thinking all of these things, and Naruto just stared at him, chewing at his thumb nail anxiously.

The class had ended a whole hour ahead of schedule, with Iruka quietly sending Naruto out of the room.

…_I'm in trouble…_Naruto thought, not noticing that he was getting quite some stares from a few students standing around, playing instruments, singing, or quietly reading notes. Some people stopped what they were doing to talk about him, but he paid them no mind, simply pulling out his cell phone to text Chouji.

'I got out of my class. Can I come in early?' he wrote.

He looked up quickly and saw someone guys looking down on him haughtily, shaking their heads in some type of disdain.

It was slightly unsettling.

He then decided to stare at them to read their lips. Of course, he couldn't catch everything they were saying, but he could piece together their thoughts.

"…you hear that…?" _Did you hear that?_

"…like…fooled everyone…" _It's like he fooled everyone._

"…so horrible…sister…probably…than him…" _That was so horrible. My baby sister is probably better than him._

It wasn't as if they heard him playing…was it? The room was_ soundproof,_ wasn't it…? Iruka _had _closed the door, hadn't he?

"…nothing good…this school…deaf…" _It's nothing good for this school when he's deaf_.

He looked down when the phone vibrated in his hand. 'The old man says it's fine,' the message read. He almost yelped in surprise when an arm slung around his shoulder. He would have been fine with it, but he didn't know anyone well enough to have them physically handling him. He turned to see who it was and couldn't hide his irritation.

"You can read lips, yeah?" the guy hanging off Naruto asked humorously. He had a proper crew cut, thick, round glasses, and exuded the air of a snobbish, conceited know-it-all.

Naruto furled his eyebrows and blinked at him, but nodded in answer.

"Read this: _Go home_, deaf boy," the guy said articulately, squeezing his arm around Naruto as if comforting him. Naruto was taken aback when he continued, "You got lucky, but you _obviously_ don't belong here!" He pushed Naruto away lightly and Naruto had to take a step forward so he wouldn't stumble.

What was with this hostility…? This wasn't high school. Why was he still being treated the way he was in high school with these college students?

The guy laughed and ruffled Naruto's hair, in which the blond quickly swiped his hand away. Suddenly, everyone in the hall was laughing at him, and he had no damn clue why, because there was no reason to be laughing. When he saw someone point and laugh, he clenched his jaw and turned slightly and was surprised when he saw another student holding up a trumpet right to his face.

_Did he blow that right in my ear?_ Naruto thought with anger. That wasn't even _funny. _When he saw him taking in a big gulp of air to blow out another note, it took all of his willpower not to grab the damn trumpet and throw it down the hall. But Naruto respected music and musical instruments, so he held back.

Instead, he turned away and to leave, but stopped short. Damn it, it was like a dead end everywhere. Sasuke was walking down the hall with his viola case strapped over his shoulder and his papers and folders in his other hand. He glared at the raven, bridled his courage, and walked down the hallway. As he passed Sasuke, he didn't miss the glare that the other gave him.

This was why he fucking hated people.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Iruka poured himself a cup of tea and sat at one of the tables, pinching the bridge of his nose. He'd gone home last night and spent the better part of his evening thinking about Naruto. He was going to have to meet with him in about twenty minutes, but he was more prepared this time for Naruto than he had been yesterday. He'd gone and dug up some things from when he was younger and was planning on giving them to Naruto, one of them being a book of exercises that would have Naruto acquire 'agility, independence, strength, and perfect evenness in the fingers, as well as suppleness of the wrist' as it so eloquently put it.

Naruto, though expressive, was a little stiff in his movements. Which showed his hesitation. Which showed his lack of agility (or proper fingering). Which, once again, went back to the whole bit where Naruto didn't even have an extensive background in formal lessons.

No matter. Bringing this out of Naruto shouldn't be _too_ difficult (although, Iruka thought, it wouldn't be easy helping someone who was basically self-taught for _years. _It was like cutting a right handed adult's hand off. Naruto would have to learn what he already knew from _such_ a different perspective).

"You look stressed, Professor Iruka," said a young professor from the art department, staring at Iruka in amusement.

Iruka looked up, having been lost in his thoughts, and suddenly said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about one of my students…"

"Troublesome?" the professor asked.

"No, no! Not at all. Just…troubled, I guess you would say. He—"

"Iruka! There you are!"

Iruka turned around and looked over to another professor—a woman with shocking hazel eyes and wavy, dark hair. "Kurenai?"

She put a hand on her hip, donning a confused expression. "I was looking for you, Iruka. That Naruto kid was in my class this afternoon!"

"Oh?" Iruka asked. "Well he was placed there on Monday."

"Well I know _that_," Kurenai said in dismissal. "But I could have _sworn_ that Dean Orochimaru mentioned that he was going to have an aide with him."

"Yes, that's right," Iruka murmured, hackles raising. "Sasuke."

"Well, funny thing," Kurenai continued. "He wasn't there. Naruto was all by himself, sitting in the front of the class, but Sasuke wasn't there. And you know, he had so much trouble following that I gave him a copy of my lesson. I have to meet up with him in a couple of minutes to get them back from him."

Iruka blinked at her and had to allow time for the words to register. "…_What…_?" he asked testily after a moment.

"Speaking of which…" Kurenai looked up in thought, tapping her mouth as she walked to the Frigidaire and pulled out a bag containing her foodstuffs. "Yeah, come to think of it, Ibiki told me this morning that Sasuke wasn't there at his class either." She sat at the table across from Iruka and pulled out her bento.

"Ha ha. Wow. It sounds like the buzz is ringing true then?" another teacher lounging asked, overhearing the conversation.

Iruka tilted his head in confusion, gritted his teeth, and slowly asked, "Buzz…? What _buzz_?"

"You know, I heard from talkative students that a couple of music students fought in the cafe the other day…? But it was just something I heard a couple of students talking about," the same teacher mentioned offhandedly, turning back to the magazine he was reading. "Kids these days…"

Iruka canted his head again. "Huh." He silently stood up, grabbed his cup of tea, poured it out in the nearest sink. "Thanks for keeping me up to date. On the _buzz_…that is. And other stuff," he murmured, facing the sink as he washed his cup. _I'm going to slice off Sasuke's manhood. Seriously. That little cocky, stuck-up twerp. He should be thanking me!  
_

When he got to the practice-room he and Naruto were to meet in, he put down his things, sat down, and crossed his arms, glancing at his watch.

Naruto came in about 15 minutes later. He was slightly tired, but brightened when he saw the professor sitting and waiting for him. He waved, and when Iruka didn't wave back as enthusiastically as he, he dropped his arm. _Uh oh…still pissed about the other day.  
_

"So how were your classes?" Iruka nonchalantly asked Naruto after the blond settled his things.

Naruto smiled at Iruka and nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. _Totally won't tell him that Sasuke went AWOL. I don't need that bastard anyway. I'll be fine.  
_

"Well that's good to hear," Iruka said with a smile. "Keeping up with your lectures just fine?"

Naruto grinned and nodded lyingly.

"Good." Iruka stood up and Naruto sat at the piano bench, waiting to get his instruction. Of course, he was angry that Naruto just blatantly lied to him. However, he wouldn't tread around that subject because what Naruto probably needed to learn humility just as much as Sasuke. He needed to realize that he _did_ have limitations, and that he _did_ have to accept help.

And Sasuke…oh, Sasuke would have to watch where he slept.

Iruka faced Naruto after having placed a lesson book on the music holder. "Because you said that you've never had formal lessons, I'll have to teach you some of the basics. You seem to have really stiff wrists and your fingering is terrible, so take this book home with you when we're done today." He reached into his bag and pulled out another book and bent forward so they could both look at the book. "For now, though, I want you to work on this etude, starting with the first study." He then placed it in front of Naruto.

Naruto took in a deep breath and nodded in understanding. _Iruka seems so short today…_ He pulled out his digi-pad quickly and typed up a message, which he then showed the professor. '…Have I done something wrong? You were peeved with me the other day.'

Iruka walked over and read the message. "Uh, something is bothering me," he said, trying to crack a smile as he scratched at his sideburn. "Don't worry yourself about it, though. I wasn't angry with you. Just a little put off. Just concentrate on this," he finished, pointing at the page. "It should be easy for you to do even though it's sight reading because it's just doing the scales back and forth." When Naruto nodded in response, he pulled away once again and sat in the comfy chair at the corner of the room.

An hour later, Naruto was zipping through the etude as if he'd known it all his life. Iruka was greatly impressed at the ease at which Naruto played it, but he could still spot that problem that Naruto had when it came to proper finger technique. Because of Naruto's poor technique, he played the etude a little slower than he was supposed to.

He thought back on Naruto's first audition and shook his head. How the blond had done that audition so well was beyond him. He supposed, though, that because of the liveliness of the pieces that Naruto had played that day, it was easy for the blond to jump around on the keys without having to worry about technique. _He got lucky that time, then._

Still, Iruka could _see_ the potentiality of Naruto's skill. It just really, _really_, _**really **_needed proper handling.

**-Silent Sonata-**

_I'm suffering_. There was no doubt about it. Right now, Naruto's bullheadedness, his pride, was his bane. A week and a half after the incident in the café, Naruto was starting to feel the pull of his their falling out. Sasuke hadn't shown up for the classes he was supposed to help Naruto with, and at this point, Naruto really cared. Now he was reaping the mess that he'd sown.

He was sure that he _failed_—no, _bombed—_the quiz that Ibiki had handed out earlier. It wasn't as if his classmates had excelled, either—he noticed that they were struggling with the quiz as well. The questions were on things that hadn't been in his text books. The man obviously valued note-taking in his class.

_I need to get help. Sasuke is an ass—okay, get over it_, he thought as he changed into his work clothes. _I need to get past his attitude and let him to help me…considering that he's __**willing**__ to do even __**that**__.  
_

No one in the class had stepped up to give him any help. He had to beg Professor Ibiki for a copy of his lecture notes.

To be honest, he was past the initial anger with and hate for Sasuke; now he just wanted to make sure he was at his academic peak…

In the past, he had bad blood with people quite a few times, but they ended up becoming his colleague and acquaintance at the end of the day, so it shouldn't be any different with Sasuke. Naruto was mature enough to apologize even when he wasn't at fault, and perhaps that was what was needed. If he did that, Sasuke would go back to helping him, right…?

Naruto checked himself in the mirror, fixed a few wrinkles, and walked out the room, heading to the eating lobby to start working. Before Chouza even asked him, he set to some of his tasks thoughtlessly. The large man came around after a while and he 'told' Naruto that they were to do the trash. The second day that Naruto was working there, he had taught the owner the word for 'garbage' and it'd stuck with the man so quickly that he would just pat the blond on the shoulder, sign, and they would be off to do the task.

He opened the back door to take out the garbage and stopped short when he saw a familiar looking man standing outside with his hands in his pockets guiltily. He'd seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't place just where…

Chouza came up behind Naruto, his two hands filled with bags of garbage, and nudged the blond slightly so he could move forward. Naruto leaned back slightly and pointed his finger awkwardly at the young man standing there, and then he moved out the way so that Chouza could pass him.

Chouza then stepped out and (Naruto could tell, from looking at his back) tensed up in anger. He faced Naruto and told him to put the trash away and then go back inside. Naruto did as told, then walked back inside. "What the hell are you doing here, Mizuki?"

Mizuki looked down, hands still in his pockets, and flinched slightly when the man raised his voice, repeating himself.

"I wanted to see…Well, I was wondering if I..." The bleached blond looked up in frustration, pulling his bony hands out of his pockets. "Look, I really, really need a job right now. And I was wondering if I could have my job back."

Chouza stared at the young man for a few seconds blankly before he kicked his head back in heavy laughter. He continued laughing as he walked toward the garbage bin, throwing the garbage in. He wiped his hands against his apron and nodded at Mizuki, who could only look at him despairingly.

"Com'ere, kid," the large man said, beckoning Mizuki. Mizuki blinked at Chouza questioningly but did as told, shuffling noisily toward the restaurant owner, hands in his pockets again. Chouza grabbed him lightly by the back of the neck and led him into the restaurant. They walked through the kitchen, the cooks eyeing them incredulously, and stopped right at the entrance of the kitchen. Chouza then pointed to Naruto, who was in the main lobby. "Look at that kid."

Mizuki nodded after a moment's hesitation. He watched as Naruto zipped from one dirty table to the next, cleaning it off, wiping it down, and replacing all the flatware and cups and napkins with clean ones. He put the menus down, walked past the two observers to gain entrance to the kitchen. Shikamaru gave Mizuki and Chouza a wary glance but signaled Naruto over to help him with an finished order.

After they waited on the table receiving their food, Naruto went back to cleaning empty tables, picking up things that'd been left behind, going to other tables and giving the customers their bill. And back and forth and so on.

"That kid busts his ass here every time he works, Mizuki," Chouza started. "You want your job back? You did _half _the work he did. When I give him his breaks, he _deserves _them. He earns every cent that he gets here. You didn't earn the money and you went to the extent of stealing from me. Tell me, should I take you back?"

Mizuki glared at Naruto, the hands in his pockets balling up in tight fists. Chouza saw the anger growing on the young man's face and patted him on the shoulder.

"Besides, Mizuki…" Chouza finished, "didn't you say that you wouldn't come back here anyway?" He paused, let Mizuki soak in the words that he hoped haunted him and bit him in the ass, and patted him on the shoulder again. "Just get out of here. We don't need you here. Were you even serious? No, no, how about this: Clean yourself up, learn to respect yourself and other people, do some good, and maybe—just _maybe_—I'll consider rehiring you. You're a good kid, but you're always in trouble. Stay out of it."

Mizuki glared hatefully at Naruto, shaking his head and grinding his teeth, not listening to the words of enlightenment that Chouza was trying to give him. _That little fucker..._ He quickly jerked himself out of Chouza's grasp and stormed through the restaurant. When he neared Naruto, who was carrying a couple of bowls of white rice to a table that requested some more from Tenten, he _very_ deliberately knocked into the blond, sending the bowls crashing to the ground, contents spilled everywhere. Thankfully the bowls were thick, so there was no shattering.

Naruto soundlessly and worriedly bent down and pulled out a dirty rag from his pocket, gathering the rice into a large, dirty pile. He was completely unaware that Mizuki was standing above and beside him, cursing him out without any shame for the people in the restaurant.

_Damn it! _Naruto thought_,_ picking up the grains of rice._ I was doing so well today! _He suddenly looked up, realizing that the guy he'd bumped into was standing over him, and apologized (a physical gesture that was familiar to all people the Japanese culture). _What does he want? _He wondered. He'd said his apology, so why was this person still bearing over him.

Mizuki stared at the blond, looked quickly at Chouza, who was storming over, and back at Naruto incredulously.

Shikamaru suddenly appeared by Naruto, settling his hand on the anxious blonde's shoulder. Naruto looked straight at him, and the brunet said slowly, "Don't worry 'bout it, Naruto. It happens. Let me help." The blond nodded after squinting at the brunet and tilting his head, and Shikamaru pulled out his rag and helped.

Mizuki noticed something strange about the interaction. Strange, he thought, how Naruto hadn't let out a sound as the bowls fell. Strange that he didn't react to Mizuki's cursing him out. Strange that he didn't say anything to Shikamaru. _He's deaf. This little __**fucker**__ is deaf. This is just too good.  
_

"Get out of here, Mizuki. You're an eyesore, and you're disturbing everyone," Shikamaru murmured without facing the bleached blond.

Mizuki shook his head angrily, turned around, and yelled loudly. "_Fuck_ all of you. Cheap _bastards_!" he fumed as he stomped out the store entrance. It wasn't like he needed that job. He _never_ needed it. He was only there for so long with one purpose in mind, and he never got a chance to fulfill that purpose.

No. It wasn't the job he was after. It was something else. The entrance door closed behind him, and he walked a few steps, staring into the restaurant and eyeing Naruto up.

Gears set into motion. _This is just too good. _All he needed was some time, now.

* * *

**Comment: **At this point, I'd like to explain my reason behind using Mizuki, of all people, as the antagonist in this story, when there are others in the manga who have done much worse to him. Who was the person that revealed to Naruto that he was Kyuubi in the manga? It was Mizuki. This man alone set a chain of events that forever changed Naruto's life in the manga. If he hadn't found out that he was the Kyuubi vessel at that point in the manga, we don't know what would have become of Naruto. Therefore, although Mizuki's character is not extensive in the original arc, his actions had a profound effect on Naruto's life.


	10. Part II: Sharp

**Comment**: Well, I was very encouraged by the reviews. I really appreciated them. This chapter will address most questions or comments that some people made.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Sharp**

**.o.**

**.**

His skills were definitely showing through even only after a week and a half. The fluidity in his movements was heaven sent compared to how he played before. Iruka could tell that Naruto was practicing outside of his lessons. Naruto was starting to form some type of confidence in the movement of his hands (meaning that, yes, he _was_ quite unconfident before). Suffice it to say, he was doing _better_, but he still wasn't reaching that level of 'superb' that Iruka was expecting out of him. He was inching there, though.

The professor watched Naruto battle with the etude (a different from the one he'd learned before), standing near the piano, and was quite pleased. He needed something good to offset the terrible mood he'd been in earlier, non gratis to a certain student of his.

**Earlier**

_Iruka sat in his office and looked at the time again. His leg bouncing under the desk in agitation, he gave a sigh and rolled his eyes. The door opened abruptly and the professor donned his most fearsome face at the student that'd just walked in._

_Sasuke stared at the professor knowingly but slipped on an expression of mock innocence. He took the seat opposite Iruka and placed his ever present viola case on his lap, as if barricading himself from the tidal wave of discipline he was sure to receive. There was a moment of silence between the two, and he took the initiative to break it. "To what do I owe this—" he grinned and canted his head slightly, "this honor?"_

_Iruka glared in disbelief at the raven's smugness. "Oh, don't act so **coy**, Sasuke-kun," he groused in irritation. "You know why you're here, and I have only one question to ask you: Do you have a heart? And where is your sense of adventure?"_

_"That was two questions. And of course I have a heart," Sasuke responded in boredom, slouching in his seat and resting his elbow on the armrest. "As far as physicality goes, at least. Emotionally…" he tilted his head again and hummed._

_"Oh Sasuke, you're losing out on a great opportunity! You're always seeing music from one perspective, but through the eyes of someone deaf? This is the first time this _school_ is embracing something so unorthodox, so why can't you just run with it? **Why are you being so childish?**"_

_Sasuke clamped his jaw and looked away, sighing angrily. "I just **don't** want to do it, Iruka."_

_"Does his being deaf disgust you so much? You're to **good**__ for him?" Iruka asked, wave after wave. "Or does he just…make you nervous…? Afraid even?"_

_"He most certainly does not," Sasuke retorted quickly, thinning his eyes at the older man. **I'm not afraid at all, damn it.**_

_"I think that's to the contrary, Sasuke." Iruka sat back in his chair and rotated the swivel seat from one side to the other. "I think you're afraid that you'll start to see things in a perspective you would've never imagined. **Hear **things differently. I think you're **stuck** with the way you are and you're afraid of a little thing called 'change'. You live in your own world where you have perfect control—where you think you know everything. This is why I wanted you to help Naruto. Please…just think it over. Naruto's a nice kid."_

_Sasuke stood up. "Being nice or not has no bearing on the situation," he murmured. "I just don't like this arrangement," he said assuredly. Before the professor could get in another word, he stood resolutely and walked out the office. "Good **day**."  
_

**Present**

Iruka was sure that Naruto was suffering from Sasuke's lack of help. He was _also_ sure that his classmates turned a blind eye to his plight. If it were up to him, he'd be helping Naruto every step of the way. Unfortunately, he really couldn't baby Naruto, and he was sure that the blond had prepped himself up to face the cruelty of life outside of his little town. One thing that really struck him was that Naruto still had yet to complain of Sasuke's absence.

Was Naruto being stubborn, or was someone actually helping him? Unfortunately he'd been so busy this week that he hadn't gotten the chance to get into the lounge and speak with Ibiki or Kurenai. He was slightly in the dark at this point about the whole situation.

Anyway, this past week and a half, though, Iruka was _really _able to determine what Naruto's main weaknesses were. A lot of it started with his physical form. It was just so off and awkward that he was sure that it made Naruto's learning experience harder than it should be. Considering that it was near the end of the lesson, though, he would address it the next time they met.

He put his hand on the blonde's shoulder gently, and Naruto stopped playing and faced him. "Have you been practicing your fingering?" he asked, trying to throw some hand gestures in.

Naruto nodded, flinching slightly as if waiting for Iruka to give a negative comment.

"I can tell. It's really starting to show through in your mobility," Iruka finished. "You've improved a bit." He looked down at his watch after he finished the statement. "Well, it's the end of your lesson. Keep practicing so you can keep improving." With that, he grabbed his things, which he'd never really disheveled in the first place, and waved to Naruto, who waved back at him.

Usually, when the lessons cut into his personal time, Iruka left rather quickly after the lesson. Other days, he and Naruto would talk for a few minutes before parting ways. The blonde grinned and set himself to getting his things together so he could go to work.

_I'm getting better. Slowly but surely. _

**-Silent Sonata-**

Emotions such as the childish one he was displaying should have been drilled out of Naruto, but, _Damn_, this was just depressing. Not only was he staring shamefully at the terrible grade he earned on Ibiki's quiz, but the teacher had given a pop quiz today and Naruto was sure that he didn't do so well. He was sure that if this kept up, he would work himself into failure very soon.

This whole Sasuke-issue was _really _starting to affect Naruto. On top of it, no one in the class was helping him. Actually, there was a _halo_ of empty seats around him, as if he was a diseased thing in need of quarantining. Could people really be such bastards? He never thought it was possible…And what was he going to do now? Ibiki had just left the room for a couple of minutes to get a DVD. They were going to watch a video, which would most likely have a lot of narrating. He would miss the whole gist of it, and he knew that Ibiki would use the material on an exam.

He had contemplated hiring a translator the other day, but the services are so expensive. He was poor, even with his current job. A lot of the money went toward past hospital and special school bills that he would probably be paying off until he was old and grey.

Damn, he really hadn't thoroughly thought the concept of being a music major. There were a lot of loop holes, and he'd just found his major one.

Sighing, he closed his burning eyes and cradled his head in the crook of his arms as he saw Ibiki wheeling in the equipment. His throat tightened and his mouth was filled with hot saliva the more he thought of his despair. He was very legitimately near tears.

He needed to talk to Sas—

A finger tapped on his shoulder, and he lifted his head up slowly. His blue eyes met with the grey eyes of that girl he'd bumped into the first day he'd gotten here. Hinata was her name. He blinked at her, and she tilted her head slightly.

"Ah, um," Hinata started. She straightened her lips when the blond blinked at her slowly. She could see his reddened eyes and instantly she felt for him. "Uh, S...Sa-Sasuke hasn't be-been sh-showing up," she stammered in her high, soft voice. She saw the confusion on Naruto's face, and quickly wrote down the words.

Naruto shook his head.

"That's t-terrible…" she murmured. She t'sked when Naruto shrugged his shoulders, as if saying, 'It's happened before. Nothing new.' She gave a soft sigh and fingered the strap of her bag. "I'll h-help you," she said resolutely, giving a nod before sitting by the blond. "I...I couldn't s-stand s...s..." she paused and clenched her jaw. "Sitting over there every day and see-seeing you by yourself..."

Naruto apologized to her in a familiar gesture. He pulled out his digi-pad and wrote, 'That's really considerate of you. I really appreciate it. But I don't need pity.' _Agh, there I go again getting so fucking defensive and being stubborn._

Hinata read the message and blushed, straightening her arms and balling her fists on top of her knees. She shook her head. "N-no, I feel bad for not having helped you b-before. It's n-not pity." She pulled out her notebook and pen and placed them on the desk.

Naruto apologized again. _She's so nice…_ And he nearly jumped when he felt something brush against him. He saw Hinata's expression change drastically and turned around. _Gah, what's his name again? Neji? Shit, he looks pissed…_

Neji, with his eyebrows drawn slightly above his pale eyes, stared down at Naruto for a couple of seconds. He then looked at Hinata. He sighed heavily, ignoring the sudden whispering around him, and, puffing out air from his nose, he sat down.

Right on the other side of Naruto.

_Well…_ Naruto thought, almost dropping his jaw. Wasn't this the person that'd totally brushed him off the first time he met him? _He deigns to sit next to me? _Naruto thought sarcastically. _It must be the apocalypse. Not gonna complain._ And he wasn't. Someone was finally willing to help him, and he wasn't going to just push it away.

Ibiki proceeded to explain the contents of the video and then not too long later, he started the video. He'd instructed everyone to write good notes because they would be seeing some of the things on their first test. Naruto had been correct.

The video was about Medieval music, and Naruto was rather lucky. It was a foreign European video, so there were subtitles provided. While he paid rapt attention to the video, Hinata took the notes and watched. Both she and Neji were very familiar with the English language, so the video wasn't very difficult for them to follow. Unfortunately, there were times in the video when it exemplified the sounds of the era, or when it compared and contrasted sounds during the early, high, and late medieval periods, so many times those parts were lost to Naruto.

Hinata tried her best to copy those parts in her notes with extended and detailed information.

The video lasted the greater part of an hour, and Naruto felt that he'd been quite educated by the end of it. There were so many things in there that he had just never known or never even _considered. _

Ibiki ended the class early with the conclusion of the video, and most of the classmates were out as quickly as possible. Hinata, Naruto, and Neji, however, lingered for a few minutes, with the long-haired raven breaking the silence.

"We'll go to the computer lab so we can make a copy of the notes," he said, voice unwavering but raspy.

Naruto nodded and silently apologized. Hinata smiled. "You really _sh...__should _stop apolo-apologizing. You're not f-forcing us," she said.

Naruto gave a single nod and grinned before he wrote on his pc, 'Actually, I shot you two with my mind control laser before so you could do my bidding. But now that I've told you my secret, I'll have to erase your memory. Or destroy you.'

Hinata giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter.

Neji stared at the girl oddly, and then glanced at Naruto before he stood. _Hnh_. He let out a puff of air through his nose. "Let's go." He turned to Hinata. "I have to drop off some papers."

Naruto clapped his hand and the two looked back at him. 'You guys wanna have lunch with me at the café? I'm gonna meet with a couple of other guys,' he wrote.

There was a simultaneous response of yes and no. Neji glared at Hinata and the girl wilted somewhat. "Neji, it's...it's college break hour.

Neji rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to.

"Please?" Hinata pleaded, her hands tightening around her notebook as she tilted her head slightly. She was dying to have interaction with her classmates.

Naruto saw the slight conflict between the two and, after putting away his pc, he shuffled next to Hinata, folded his hands, and mimicked her stance, giving Neji a mock-pleading expression.

Neji stared at Naruto strangely and sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation, not finding any humor in the blonde's mimicry or Hinata's plea. "And since when are you this brave?" he asked the young woman dauntingly.

Hinata bit on her lip and straightened, lowering her head. She murmured something and locked her eyes on the wall.

"What was that?"

"…I…I didn't eat breakfast this m-morning…" she repeated.

Neji sighed. "Fine," he breathed. "But we're dropping these off first at the career service office."

She nodded, then turned to Naruto. "We'll h-have l..." she paused and scrunched her face slightly. "Lunch with you," she finished, smiling.

Naruto pumped his fist.

After the three left the career service office, they'd headed to the computer lab, copied the notes Hinata had written, and then headed to the student café. Naruto neared the table he usually sat at (Neji and Hinata in tow) and was surprised to see Lee sitting there by himself. He tilted his head in confusion but waved to the bowl-haired raven nonetheless.

"Ah! Naruto! We meet again!" Lee said loudly, waving back at Naruto as the blond sat.

_This guy looks like a moron, _Neji thought as he neared the table. He sighed loudly and put his bag on the chair in front of him.

Naruto pulled out his digi-pad and wrote to Lee, 'Where are Sakura and Ino?'

"Ah, they took a field trip to the bathroom a couple of minutes before you came," Lee answered with a grin. "They should be back, oh—" he looked down at his watch, "25 minutes or so from now."

Naruto grinned as well, and then pointed to Neji and Hinata. Lee stood up studiously with an 'Oh!' and extended his hand. "My name is Rock Lee! I don't attend this school, but my girlfriend does! Pleased to meet you."

Neji _didn't_ shake his hand but chose instead to bow his head civilly. "Likewise," he said, adding in a low voice, "I suppose." He cleared his throat. "Hyuuga Neji."

"Neji, I hope we can be great friends! Any friend of Naruto's, who is a friend of Sakura's, is a friend of mine!" Lee said with a smile, making the connections with his fingers.

Neji quirked his lip, unable to hide his guardedness and annoyance with Lee. He couldn't believe that such happy people existed without some ulterior motives.

"H-Hyuu...Hyuuga Hinata," Hinata said quietly, bowing her head quickly, but shaking Lee's hand since he offered it. She sat next to Neji after he sat.

Sakura and Ino came to the table right after Lee sat back down. "Hey!" Sakura said aloud, plopping next to Lee. Ino sat next to her, waving at them prettily, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, Sakura," Lee said in mock surprise. "Surely I thought you would have taken so much _longer_ in the powder room!"

Sakura snickered, elbowing Lee. "'Knock it off, loser,'" she said, waving her hand in dismissal.

"My, my, we have new faces today!" Ino said, smiling at Hinata and Neji. "Well, not new to the school, of course, but quite new to the table." Naruto signed, pointing to Neji and Hinata with a rather laughable expression on his face. Sakura laughed loudly, signing back at Naruto. Ino and Lee pouted. "Now that's not fair!" the blonde female objected. "I'm going to have to learn sign language if you to keep doing that!"

"For sure!" Lee agreed.

"Naruto said that these two have been following him from his class. He tried to ditch them, but they were just _so_ persistent in following him. They're his fans, apparently," Sakura said, laughing. She turned to Neji and Hinata. "And apparently you're paying for his lunch, too?"

Neji and Hinata both dropped their jaws, and, uncharacteristically, the male sputtered. "Wha—? No. Who said?"

"Hah!" Ino grinned. "I think only Naruto has the ability to make the most composed person in this school stutter like a broken record." She nodded at the blond. "Kudos to you, my friend." Naruto curtsied as Sakura interpreted.

Hinata giggled, realizing that the blond had just been joking. "M-my name is Hyuuga—"

"Oh, we know who you are, cutie," Ino cut in. "_Everyone_, knows who you are: Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata of Hyuuga Energy Conservation Corporation. This campus is pretty small, so word travels quick, even in different departments."

"I _thought _your name sounded familiar!" Lee said, snapping his finger as his arm snaked behind Sakura, resting his hand on her shoulder as he sat back and placed an ankle on his knee.

Neji rolled his eyes. His family—Hinata's in particular—had been a subject of idle chat for years now, what with the death of his father a few years ago and the sudden declination of the company's prominence in the market lately.

Hinata squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. The two of them were talked about because of their slightly rebellious streak: They really had no interest in their inheritance or in taking over the business in the years to come, even though it was being forced on them.

"I thought for sure you were going to take after your father," Lee murmured to himself about Neji.

Naruto signed adamantly and stood up, walking away. "He's gonna get his lunch," Sakura said. "He said that these kinds of subjects bore him."

Ino stood up as well. "I'll guess I'll get my lunch, too," she said. "You two getting anything?" she asked Sakura and Lee.

"Nope," Lee said, putting the bag that'd been next to him onto the table. "I bought lunch today."

"Wah," Sakura swooned jokingly. "Thanks, you big dork," she cooed, tapping his nose.

"Only yours, Sakura!" Lee retorted gushingly.

"Oh, I'm going to _hurl_," Ino moaned, turning to Neji and Hinata. "You two going to get anything?"

Hinata nodded and stood when Neji stood. The four of them ordered their food at the different vendors, Hinata settling for Indian, Neji and Ino for Japanese, and Naruto for American cuisines. They returned to the table minutes later to find Sakura and Lee with their food set, waiting for them.

Naruto sat at the table, clapped his hands together, and proceeded to dig into his food enthusiastically after pouring some mayonnaise on his pizza.

This was great. Everyday should be like this.

**-Silent Sonata-**

The next few days were equally as fulfilling for Naruto. Neji and Hinata were nearly glued to either side of Naruto, and even the long-haired raven spoke to Naruto on occasion with less annoyance in his tone (which Naruto could tell from his demeanor. There was a lot of unspoken dialogue that people never realized they displayed). Between Neji and Hinata, the two of them shared the weight of note-taking for Naruto, alternating days, and they were starting to catch on to some of his language.

It was a regular thing to eat lunch with Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Neji. Even Ino started learning some of the sign language as well. Whenever Lee visited, he was able to communicate with Naruto with more ease, with the private help of Sakura.

This was what it should have been like since the beginning of the school year. None of that Sasuke nonsense marring his world! This was horribly idealistic for Naruto. Actually, it seemed like his language was rubbing off on everyone around him. Even at work, he was able to communicate a bit with his workmates using sign language. Shikamaru, Chouji, and TenTen were sucking things up like sponges, Shikamaru especially. He was sure that Shikamaru was either learning on his own for the sake of doing something new, or he was just pure genius. He couldn't settle on which one.

However, this was a feeling that Naruto wasn't very familiar with, these people being so friendly and cooperative with him. Back where he was from, he was popular, but he was very alone. People knew of him, but they didn't really _get _to _know_ him. Most people made fun of him. And those that were nice weren't anything more than just acquaintances.

Kiba even complained to him just last night that he was starting to feel left out. Poor Kiba. He should have everyone over one night so they could all meet each other.

Naruto turned around when Shikamaru tapped him on his shoulder.

"Dude, I need ya to do me a big favor, yeah? I'm waiting on a table right now but the order for those two guys over there in the corner is ready. Can ya please bring it to 'em?" Shikamaru asked tiredly, holding a platter in one hand and a folding table in the other.

«Which table?» Naruto asked.

"By the plant," Shikamaru answered.

Naruto nodded, sending the brunet off with a pat on the shoulder. He went to the kitchen, picked up the order for the table, waving to TenTen as he did so. She was an interesting character. She was an exchange student, originally from China. She was so precise and speedy with what she did and was always smiling. But customers _loved_ her because she was so genuine in her efforts to speak properly and with such a gentle voice.

She waved back at him then picked up an order for another table. He followed her out the door a few seconds later with the order that Shikamaru had asked him to help with and headed toward the table in the corner. As he neared the table, squinting his eyes, he couldn't help but feel like the male facing him looked somewhat familiar.

He shrugged the thought and reached the table, carefully placing the platter down while bending his knee (that was a trick Chouji taught him so that he could keep his balance) and then stopped short.

He let the platter drop the rest of its way to the table loudly.

Sasuke…

He swiveled to face the other person that he'd thought familiar.

Sasuke and a Sasuke look-alike? **_Why, _**_God, **why**?_

The blond imitated a fish for a few seconds before the Sasuke look-alike smiled at him. "No, we're not twins," he said humorously. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the comment. "Are you going to let us have our food, though?" the male asked.

Naruto shook out of his stupor, choosing _not _to establish eye-contact with Sasuke as he set the meals on the table. He was efficient, desiring to leave as soon as possible. _Just do it and leave. Do it and leave._

"You two know each other," the long haired Sasuke look-alike surmised. Both Sasuke and Naruto were oddly rigid ever since they'd laid eyes on each other. "Oh, don't glare at me, little brother."

"Shut up, Itachi," Sasuke responded, pulling his meal closer to himself as Naruto set the middle of the table.

"Oh don't be so childish, Sasuke. You two know each other?" he repeated, staring at Sasuke as he adjusted his glasses. Sasuke rolled his eyes in a manner that was as good as saying 'yes.' "Then don't be rude," Itachi murmured with that slight smile that he always wore. "Introduce me."

"Ugh," Sasuke groused. "Read his tag."

Naruto stepped back after having set the table and bowed his head slightly, turning.

"Excuse me," Itachi called as Naruto turned. "Could I have another…" The blond took another few steps. Itachi stopped short after adjusting his glasses and then perked in his seat when Sasuke lightly grabbed the blonde's wrist to stop him.

Naruto stopped and faced Sasuke, glaring as willed himself not to wrench his arm away, lest he make a scene. _Get your hands off me, you **prick**! _He thought angrily, tightening his jaw. He pulled at his arm, and Sasuke let go.

Sasuke pointed to the bowl of white rice and, facing Naruto, said, "Another," and then pointed to his brother.

Naruto's features loosened in understanding, and he nodded professionally.

Itachi watched as Naruto walked off and then looked at Sasuke. "He's deaf?"

"No, he's blind, like you," Sasuke bitingly murmured as he began eating.

"I'm not blind," Itachi pouted as he, too, began to eat. There was a moment of silence as the two of them ate, but then he spoke up again. "So...do you go to school with him?" he asked, looking at Sasuke and adjusting his glasses again. He breathed out quickly in frustration and finally decided to take the glasses off.

"How _else_ would I know him?" Sasuke hissed.

"Why do you have to be so difficult, Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he sat back, clicking his chopsticks in irritation.

"Why do you have to ask _stupid_ questions, Itachi?" Sasuke retorted, not even sparing his older brother a glance.

"Why can't you just _answer_ the questions?" the older brother returned with Sasuke's tone.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes. Itachi let out a hum of pleasure when their original waiter (Shikamaru) returned to the table with another bowl of white rice, placing it down.

"Is everything okay so far, guys?" Shikamaru asked dutifully.

Itachi picked up the bowl from the table and held it close to him. "It is," he said with a grin, chewing on some of the rice. He and Sasuke were never good at sharing, and now he had is own bowl.

"Alright then. If you need more tea or if you need anything else, please let anyone of us know," Shikamaru said before walking away.

"Thank you," Itachi responded. He picked at his food again.

"How long are you going to be here this time?" Sasuke asked after a short moment.

"Just until tomorrow morning," Itachi responded. "I'm going to be working on a scandalous drug-related murder case in Okinawa. You want to know what I was told happened at the scene?"

"Isn't that stuff supposed to be confidential, Itachi?" Sasuke asked in annoyance. "You're a detective for pete's sake."

Itachi shrugged. "Fine," he said quietly and quite dejectedly.

The two of them ate silently and slowly for a few minutes, engulfed in their meals, until Sasuke broke the silence by putting his chopsticks down a little loudly. "Okay, tell me," he said impatiently.

So he liked a little mystery. Who _didn_'t?

Itachi snickered and then started professionally. "Well, the murder victim had been claimed missing by his wife for about four days, but when he finally showed his wife said that he had very suspicious mannerisms and different mannerisms. He was agitated, short of temper, etc. and refused to leave his home. The police down there found him dead the next day, so they asked us to come down. They think it might be drug related, but I don't think so."

"Hnh," Sasuke hummed, looking back down at his food. He had to admit, that sounded interesting.

"That's why they're putting me on this case, since it's very similar to the one we never cracked last month. Both murder victims were disabled. That's significant, if you ask me._ We_ think it's gang related, and we've put in forces to infiltrate their side."

Sasuke nodded. "You're leaving tomorrow morning? But tomorrow's mother's—"

"I'm leaving tomorrow _morning_, Sasuke," Itachi said with finality, his voice firm and no longer holding that lightness it'd had all night.

"You're a bastard, Itachi. You never visit the graves. You still believe—"

"Our parents weren't innocent people, Sasuke. Stop being a child and stop painting them as the canvases you want them to be," Itachi hissed quietly, gesturing emphatically across the table. "You could never see their selfish side."

Sasuke dropped his napkin on the table, clenching his jaw, he murmured, "I refuse to believe that."

"We're not going to get into this, Sasuke. Finish eating."

Sasuke put down his chopsticks loudly and sat back. "I'm done," he growled angrily, though his food was a little over half done. Itachi sighed, rolling his eyes. The younger Uchiha pulled out his wallet.

"I'm paying," Itachi said quickly.

"No, I'll pay for myself," Sasuke responded angrily, splaying out his cards on the table and trying to decide which to use or which was no longer usable. Why the hell he didn't get rid of the unusable ones was something he would never know.

"I'm paying and that's final. Either way it's my money," Itachi murmured in a low voice. It was the tone that compelled the younger to concede. When Itachi set his mind to a purpose, it was finalized, no questions asked.

Sasuke growled, shoving everything back into his wallet, and placed it down on the edge of the table as he stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back," he murmured, hitting the table by mistake and dropping the wallet as Itachi looked back at his food.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto sighed as fiddled with the wallet in his hand. He'd found it under the table when he was cleaning earlier and decided he would give it to Sasuke tomorrow. Usually he would give it to Chouza or Chouji, but since he _knew_ Sasuke…he felt obligated. The raven had been short with him tonight, but at least he was civil.

He pocketed the wallet and continued on his way home, grinning childishly as he jumped on the distorted reflections of colors on the wet ground below. He was glad he moved here. Tokyo was a beautiful metropolis. It was full of color, especially at this time of night, with cars passing, street lights and store signs alight. Even the occasional couple walking arm in arm, one holding an umbrella. It was actually starting to rain a little heavier, but Naruto was in no rush to get home or out of the rain.

Someone ran by him quickly, and he turned around moodily. Sighing, he stepped into the street distractedly, not realizing that the pedestrian light had turned. Suddenly, he felt an immense weight pummel into him from behind and he was blinded by bright lights. He could feel himself falling with hands tightly wrapping around his clothing as he was wrenched off his feet and catapulted in the air. A car whizzed quickly behind him and fear got a hold of him. His body was twisted oddly and a hand curved around his head. The impact of his wrist on the concrete surface made him see white.

"Uah!

He and whomever else was currently cocooning him tumbled a few good feet. It was a hard fall.

"Huu!"

"Ungh! Huff…! Ah…"

What the hell just happened?

Naruto rolled over after a couple of seconds, gathering his bearings as he detangled himself from whomever had just saved him. His leg pulled away awkwardly from the leg over his and he rolled again, pushing himself up slowly. _Owowow! _His wrist protested instantly against the weight. He suppressed a distressed groan and pushed himself up with his other hand, staring at his hand. Thank _god_! It was considerably scraped but, twisting it, only pinched slightly. Still, he needed his hand for, oh, _everything_ that he did.

Slight movement caught his eye and he gasped, as if suddenly remembering that someone else had been involved in the tumble to the ground. He turned to the person that just saved him and bent forward. He wasn't moving…not a good sign. It wasn't a good idea, but he shook the guy in worry. If he was badly hurt…oh god. It wouldn't be as if Naruto could just call 911. The man moved, shook, and turned over, reaching a badly scraped hand to an equally scraped his head.

_Oh god, why do you curse me? _The blond thought with a mixture of animosity and despair. There he was. Sasuke, with a large red bruise on his cheek and a harsh scrape on his hairline just above his temple with blood pouring from it.

The raven shook off Naruto's hands, which had stopped right on top of him. He opened his eyes and stared up at the blond, who looked down at him worriedly. _Damn it…_ He squelched the urge to vomit right on Naruto's lap as he sat up _way_ too quickly and his vision swam dangerously, everything going dark for a second. When he'd crashed into Naruto and the two had fallen, he'd instinctively curled his body and taken the brunt of the fall. He never had felt the jarring vibrations of a jackhammer, but he was almost certain that there was one in his head _right _now.

Sasuke groaned pitifully when Naruto helped him to a sitting position, weakly pushing the blonde's hand away. He groaned again and shook his head, trying to fight his dizziness as he looked toward the blond. Naruto stared at him intently, then made a motion, putting his hands over his head and touching his palm with the fingertips of his opposite hand. Roof. He was asking Sasuke if he was okay **(1)**. Sasuke grabbed his head at the sudden onslaught of pain and eyed the blond warily when Naruto stood up.

Naruto was only another two blocks from home, so he decisively started throwing his hands up in signs. Sasuke just stared at him blankly, looking for all intents and purposes that he was going to pass out or throw up. Naruto winced at the twisting movement he made with his wrist and signed slowly so that Sasuke could catch one or two things. When that didn't seem to work, he paused then started again, using the most basic gestures he could procure in his panicked state.

He pointed at himself, held up two fingers, formed a square with his two hands, then pointed behind him. Me, two, blocks, _that way_. He was trying to tell Sasuke that he was only another two blocks or so from here, but ended up feeling like a caveman. Add a couple of well placed grunts and he would have been one. Nonetheless, his message got across to the raven, who donned an expression of understanding, brows knotted. He didn't expect Naruto's hand to extended towards him, so there was a moment of hesitation. The blond t'sked at the stubborn raven, bent forward, and hauled Sasuke to his feet.

And he regretted it instantly.

Sasuke, if at all possible, paled from the sudden change in elevation and nearly lost his footing. "_Shit…_" he murmured. Naruto's instinctive reaction was to catch him, but his wrist ached instantly, so he hissed as Sasuke bore his weight on him. He was almost positive that Sasuke was fighting a losing battle with a minor concussion. He slung the free hand over his shoulder easily (being shorter), and took a shaky step forward. Sasuke dragged one of his legs. What would have normally taken Naruto less than ten minutes ended up being a fifteen minute struggle. Nevertheless, they trudged to the apartment, and when they arrived, sweat trickled down both their brows.

Normally Naruto was okay with taking the stairs, but Sasuke wasn't in any condition to take the four flights. Unfortunately, this building didn't have an elevator system! So he let Sasuke sit in the chair in the lobby then texted Kiba. 'Get your ass down here quick. Man down. Can't make it up the stairs alone.'

Kiba responded with a 'What?'

The blond sat next to Sasuke, who was crouched in his seat and cradling his head. Fortunately the bleeding wasn't severe, but the raven was still pale, and his arms shook with each breath he took. He'd definitely taken the brunt of the fall. Naruto bit his lip and bent forward toward Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke faced the blond blearily, wishing he could turn out the lights around him. It was too bright. _I should have just let him get hit by the fucking car_. Damn, he just hurt _all over, _and he was sure that he'd be bruising in many places. He blinked slowly when the blond signed an apology. Why the hell he was apologizing was beyond Sasuke. He blinked, feeling tired.

"_What the fuck happened_?"

Sasuke nearly jumped at the unexpected sensory stimulation. Kiba was ever the vociferous one. The brunette bent toward Naruto and grabbed his shoulders. "What happened?" he repeated.

Sasuke blinked heavily, rubbing his eye when Kiba blurred out of focus for a moment. _Slight concussion…can't fall asleep…_

But he was so tired…

«I'll tell you later!» Naruto responded animated. «Right now I think we need to just get upstairs.» He turned to point to Sasuke and then gasped. Sasuke was slumped to his side in the chair.

Kiba cursed in sudden panic, then bent over, slapping Sasuke lightly on the cheek. Hopefully he hadn't completely fallen asleep, otherwise things would get serious. He and Naruto grabbed an arm and slung it over their shoulders, then proceeded up the four flight stairs with a foggy raven hanging between them almost drunkenly. He'd left the door unlocked, so he just twisted the knob and they moseyed inside awkwardly, easing the raven onto the couch. Without hesitation, Naruto went toward the bathroom, got the first aid kit, and went about taking care of that nasty bruise and those scrapes.

Sasuke, cognizant by now but rather languid in his movements, hissed and flinched away as soon as the antiseptic touched the sore areas.

Naruto t'sked at him and rolled his eyes, slapping away Sasuke's hand, which had reached up to protect himself. He pressed the antiseptic spray and Sasuke pulled away again. "That stings!"

Naruto signed at Kiba quickly and the brunet snorted in response. "He says you're worse than a child," he told Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at Kiba tiredly and grinded his teeth at Naruto. "Ass," he murmured testily.

Kiba yawned, scratching his scalp viciously, and stretched. Naruto made Sasuke hold up some gauze to the wound on his head, which had started bleeding again. "So what _happened?_" the brunet asked, if not for the millionth time. He turned on the television and put it on the nature channel.

Naruto responded, «I really don't know. Ask Sasuke.»

Sasuke, without having waited for Kiba to translate, started, "He was nearly hit by a car." He flinched when the antiseptic touched the back of his other hand, which Naruto held in one hand and cleaned with the other.

"And why the fuck were _you_ there?" Kiba asked, thinning his eyes in suspicion. "It's hard to believe that you _noticed _that the car was trailing Naruto. I'm trying to figure out where you fit in this picture.

"My wallet," Sasuke murmured tiredly. "Left it at the—" he hissed and tried to pull his hand, but Naruto gripped it tightly at that moment and glared up at him. "Damn it!"

Naruto shook his head shamefully, slightly disgusted at Sasuke's seemingly low tolerance for pain. He turned to Kiba and signed again, then made a horrible, rude gesture to his crotch.

"It's like you've never gotten hurt before. Grow some balls. My wrist is killing me but I'm not complaining," Kiba translated, grinning at the Uchiha.

That seemed to get Sasuke to shut up. However, having a slight concussion made any person seem out of norm. For the next couple of minutes he merely flinched, but didn't pull away or voice his pain. When Naruto was nearly done, wrapping his hand in gauze, Sasuke finished his earlier thought. "I left my wallet in the restaurant. They said you had it and that you'd left.

Naruto shifted slightly and watched Kiba's hands. He gave a nod and then made a brief gesture.

"I have it. Just wait," Kiba said.

Sasuke's arm got tired from holding up the gauze, so he hunched his back and slouched forward. Naruto finished with his hand and then moved back to the wound above his temple. There was a moment of tense silence between the three of them, disturbed by the television program describing the nature of tropical insects and Kiba humming in mild interest.

It was awkward to say the least. Naruto was _very _close to Sasuke's face, holding his breath in concentration. Every now and then, he would let out a long, bated breath, and Sasuke had to turn slightly in his discomfort. He heard Kiba hum again in interest, and then suddenly remembered something. It was random, but significant. When they'd been falling, he definitely _heard _Naruto… So breaking the silence when Naruto faced him, he said, "You can speak."

Naruto had pulled away slightly at the moment, so he caught Sasuke's words. He paused tensely, and Kiba turned to the raven instantly. "What was that…?" asked the brunet, voice shaking.

Staring straight at the blond, Sasuke continued, "You're _not _mute."

Naruto finished with what he was doing stiffly, placing the gauze and taping it down.

"How would _you_ fucking know?" Kiba hissed. "That's none of your damn business."

"It would—_daah_!" Sasuke reeled back and stared in shock at Naruto, who'd pressed his thumb into the bandaged wound on his forehead._ He **definitely **did that on purpose!_

Naruto made a face at Sasuke that betrayed his innocence, then grabbed at what he thought was the armrest so that he could push himself up. He'd been in that crouched position for too long and his knees were hurting.

Sasuke went rigid almost instantly and gasped, face turning red as he held his breath. Then, unexpectedly, he let out a sound of anguish. "Gehuh! _Offffuh_!"

Naruto looked down quickly in alarm and realized that his hand was pressing down firmly on Sasuke's pelvic bone, not on the armrest. He pulled away slightly when the raven's hands fell on his and grabbed tightly. Quickly, he pushed the raven's chemise up and widened his eyes when they landed on the large, dark bruise that stemmed from the raven's hip and went below the hem of his pants. Without thinking Naruto looped his fingers behind the hem and tugged.

Sasuke abruptly pulled him and cradled his pants, clenching his shirt closed, mouth wide open in shock. _Fuck, he almost_—_!_ He stared at Naruto incredulously. "_Excuse_ me?" he roared. He glared over at Kiba when the brunet burst out in laughter, cradling his stomach.

Naruto blushed furiously and looked away, scratching at the side of his jaw.

When Kiba finally stopped his laughter, he wiped the a tear that rolled onto his cheek with his knuckle and gave a whoop. "Dude, you'll have to forgive Naruto. He has no decency. Or shame. And he's brash."

Sasuke unintelligibly agreed with the brunet, still quite shocked. He shook his head and stood up. "I think I'm done here," he murmured. He reached his hand to Naruto and made a 'come here' motion with his fingers. "I want my wallet."

After reading the raven's lips, Naruto pulled out the wallet from his pocket and handed it to the raven.

Sasuke snatched his wallet and limped to the front door. He stopped when he felt a hand pat his shoulder. He turned around and glared at the blond. "What?"

«Thanks,» Naruto signed.

"He said—"

"I _know_ what he said," Sasuke hissed impatiently at Kiba.

"Well that's usually your queue to say 'You're welcome,'" Kiba retorted. Naruto made a flurry of signs at Sasuke again, turned at an angle that Kiba could see. He grumbled to himself at translating the words to Sasuke: "It's raining out and you live far. You should call a taxi."

Sasuke kept a straight face with Naruto and muttered a 'I'm fine,' turning away to open the door. He turned again when Naruto patted his shoulder again. "_What_?" he asked with dying patience.

Naruto signed at him again. "You know, you can wait here until it comes," Kiba translated begrudgingly. He didn't like Sasuke _at all_. This was only the second time he met him, and the first impression he had of him was still wedged in his mind.

Sasuke sighed and, for the sake of not having to argue, he limped back to the couch, checking his pockets for his phone. But of _course_ it wasn't there. Of _course_ he left it at home. "…Nn…I need a phone," he murmured. Kiba pointed to the kitchen, and he helped himself.

Naruto sat at the couch tiredly, grabbing the first aid kit and placing it on his lap. He beckoned Kiba with the wave of his hand. The brunet walked over to him and Naruto said, «I think I sprained my wrist. It hurts a little. Could you wrap it for me?»

Kiba grunted with a childish pout, but crouched in front of Naruto and wrapped the blonde's wrist. _God, the things I do for this guy, _Kiba mused as he stood up when finished. Sasuke came back into the room by this time and sat at the other end of the couch. Naruto thanked Kiba and stood up quickly, shuffling over to the piano. It probably _wasn't _a good idea to play right now, seeing as the strenuous movements would probably hurt rather than help his sprain, but he _really_ wanted to work on the new etude that Iruka had given him to study. This was merely a flesh wound!

The moment he began to play, Sasuke groaned with long-suffering. _Really_? _He can't wait until I'm gone to play his noise_? And it _was _noise. He'd heard wind of Naruto's lack of skills. Even now there were rumors that the blonde's skills were lacking, and that he _really_ shouldn't have been allowed to change majors.

Sasuke had come to the conclusion that Naruto was self-taught. After all, how would he have done so well on his audition?

Oh, it was painful listening to him right now. To the untrained ear, Naruto's playing could be deemed as 'okay', but he was in an elite art and music college! This was a little ridiculous. His body tilted to the left and then he paused. He wouldn't. He _wouldn't_. But even as his mind said "No", that he wouldn't allow the 'tutor' in him to act out , Sasuke's legs somehow managed to say "Yes", and it was on this action that he found himself standing near the piano behind the blond.

He could list off many reasons _why_ Naruto was making this piece so difficult to both play _and_ listen to. Iruka taught his students to embrace their awkwardness, but what the hell was up with Naruto's form? He was slouched over the piano like his bowels were twisted up. _And what is with those lips? _And—

He placed a hand on his head in dread. Oh, so _painful_…

Before he knew what he was doing, Sasuke's hand was hitting the piano for Naruto to stop. The blond jerked away in shock and stared wide eyed at Sasuke. The raven looked over at Kiba, who was still watching the documentary. "You. _You!_"

Kiba turned when he realized that Sasuke was talking to him. "It's Kiba!"

"Whatever. Translate," the raven demanded, pointing at Naruto.

Kiba glared at Sasuke but walked over and stood next to him anyway.

Naruto swiveled in his seat and stared at the two with a laughable, offended expression. «You're ganging up on me now? Bad friend award, Kiba!»

Kiba shrugged innocently and pointed at Sasuke. "'It's his idea. I just wanted to watch the documentary,'" he murmured.

"He has bad form," Sasuke started, talking to Kiba. "He needs to work on his form. Slouching is going to—" He stopped when Naruto signed animatedly, pointing at himself and at Kiba.

"When you're talking to me," Kiba started, voicing Naruto's comment, "talk to _me_, not to Kiba. Don't tell Kiba to translate; just talk to _me_." Letting the words sink in to Sasuke, Kiba then reasoned, "It just makes the interaction more personal. Just consider me the telephone that you talk through."

Sasuke squinted at the analogy but continued nonetheless. "Fine. _You_ have terrible form. You have to work on it. Slouching is going to hinder a lot of movement, and you'll find that it's harder to breath that way. You didn't slouch like that when you had your review."

"That's the way I learn first. The more I remember, the farther I pull away. It's just until I get used to the music," Kiba said as Naruto signed.

"It's damaging your ability to learn the music faster. You lose mobility. And you're extremely stiff. Sit up."

Naruto pouted and begrudginly sat up straighter. Sasuke stared at him expectantly and, when Naruto didn't do anything, he pointed to the piano impatiently and barked, "Play!"

Naruto dropped the corners of his lips in an odd, mocking expression and turned around.

Kiba nearly turned back to sit at the couch, but when Sasuke snapped a very commanding "You stay", the brunet saluted him militarily and shouted, "Sir, yes Sir!" with as much sarcasm as he could possibly muster.

Sasuke nearly had half a mind to clout Kiba, but Naruto's skills were more prevalent on his mind. He sighed again. "Stop, stop," he mumbled, hitting his hand on the piano again. He then said to Kiba, "Get on the other side so he can see you."

The brunet murmured a sardonic "Woof" and stood near the end of the piano so that Naruto could see him in his position. _Damn it, who the hell is he to order me around in my own place. Fucking bastard. _

"Drop your shoulders, push out your chest, and straighten up." Sasuke lightly tapped the mid-top of Naruto's back with the back of his hand twice. Naruto obediently rolled his shoulders and then dropped them, realizing that he'd been so tense without even knowing it. "Still too tense. And stop clenching your jaws and pouting! Are you going to kiss the piano?"

Naruto twisted around after Kiba translated the last two sentences and faced Sasuke with a slighted expression, signing a quick message and then shutting his eyes and scrunching his whole face. He pursed his lips more and then glared at Sasuke.

Sasuke squinted his eyes. What in god's name...?

"It's my game face," Kiba said, trying to hold his laughter.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he murmured, and then motioned for Naruto to play again. "Stop being so tense," he repeated. He canted an eyebrow when Naruto jerked all his limbs like a floundering animal, loosening his whole body of any tenseness. He sighed when the blond finally placed his fingers on the piano keys.

There was a slight but noticeable change in Naruto's play. It was an improvement, and it sounded less choppy, not by much, but it was an improvement nonetheless. After a minute of playing, the blond stopped and turned to Sasuke. "«Did that sound different? Cuz it felt different, a little…» he said in dumb shock.

After Kiba translated, Sasuke answered honestly, "Better."

Naruto pumped his fist then paused. «I thought you play the viola or the violin? Why do you know so much about piano form?» he asked.

Kiba voiced Naruto's curiosity, and Sasuke answered vaguely by saying, "Get up." The blond blinked but did as told. Sasuke sat on the bench and faced the piano. He pulled the bench back a couple of inches and placed his fingers on the keys, letting his fingertips hit the keys, but only hard enough to make a tapping noise, not to make any sounds. "Watch me. You know this."

Naruto glanced at Kiba then did as told.

Sasuke proceeded to play a song that, after a few seconds of watching the notes very closely, Naruto realized he _did_ know. _Ooh! Devil's Staircase!_ Naruto thought. _He knows how to play piano, too? Damn it!_

Naruto proceeded to watch Sasuke intently. The raven was bent over, but only slightly. He moved very fluidly, but he wasn't all over the piano like Naruto was. His face showed concentration, but not overly so. Everything he did was subtle. Every move—subtle. Using the pedals—subtle.

Naruto was very _jealous_.

He played with a proficiency, adroitness, and elegance that Naruto could only wish to emulate when he was more skilled.

"Yah..._Yah_!"

"What was that?" Sasuke suddenly asked, pulling away from the piano.

Naruto looked over at Kiba in panicked curiosity. «What happened? Why'd he stop?»

"'Akamaru must've woke up,'" Kiba answered. "'He was in the bedroom. Hold on, let me let him out. I closed the door.'"

Naruto nodded, «Oh.»

But Sasuke wasn't so calm. The horrid sound was akin to a small person being gutted. "What is that?" he repeated when he heard the loud yowl again. He really didn't know _what _he expected he'd see when Kiba walked back in the room, but he certainly wasn't banking on a fox being the source of that sound. He got up quickly from the bench when the animal squirmed in Kiba's arm in excitement of new company. "Are you serious?" he yelled.

"Who's the sexiest beautiful fox? You are!" The brunet totally went soft for the canine. Akamaru was the most playful thing after he would wake up from his long naps. "Yes, you are!"

"Back off with that thing," Sasuke hissed, pressing his back against the piano. "I'll kick it if it gets close to me."

Kiba spoke in unintelligible squabble and neared Sasuke with the wriggling animal in his arms. "Oh, he's just a grumpy man, Akamaru," he murmured, holding the fox closely to his chest as if it were actually emotionally damaged by the raven's threat. And then he said suddenly, "Go get 'im, Aka! Go!"

The fox lunged from Kiba's arms towards Sasuke, landing short of actually hitting the raven. When Akamaru landed, the little fox skittered around the raven's feet, its nails tapping against the hardwood floor as he tried not to slip around. A normal person would call it cute.

Sasuke, however, didn't do cute. Thus he glared at Kiba, shook his head angrily, and headed to the front door, Akamaru tight on his tail. He muttered angry nothings to himself as he opened the door, glaring at the fox before looking up and glaring at Kiba and Naruto, both who were trying their best (and failing) to hide their grins.

"Assholes," he murmured childishly before he closed the door behind him. He would wait downstairs for his taxi.

**.**

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**Comment: **

**(1)** "…putting his hands over his head and touching his one palm with the fingertips of his opposite hand. Roof." – Often in the Japanese culture, one will make this 'roof' over their head and it can basically convey the meaning of agreement, safety, someone being alright, etc. The hand position is similar to the 'cut/time out' gesture, but done over the person's head

Wow, what a totally long chapter. This was actually two chapters that I literally shoved into one, only because I really want the plot to start advancing for you guys :3. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it. See how I'm creeping a lot of characters in here? Yeah. So, I'm a big "Neji-after-chuunin-exams fan. He's extremely funny in his dry, dry way. So he'll be that way here too…hopefully. :3 Erm, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, though! See you all at the next update! Which should be sooner than this one :0! Hopefully…Please review!

Do you feel like anyone is OOC? Please let me know, and I'll start to make adjustments.

I'm going to be honest with you guys. After the last few pages, I really stopped caring about grammar and spelling and stuffs. I really just want to get this chapter out. If you se considerably large problems, let me know. Otherwise I'll edit this on my own time D:


	11. Part II: Appassionata

**Comment**: Thank you all for your kind words and attention.

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**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Apassionata  
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Naruto sat near the front of Ibiki's class, getting things out and looking over the notes Neji had copied for him. He had new resolve. His will was miraculously resurrected last night! He _would _do well academically, and more importantly, he _would_ do well musically.

He wanted to be better than Sasuke—_Damn him, he obviously seems to be good at everything, including being a major ass!_— and he wanted to make Iruka and Jiraiya proud of him. Last night when the raven had played the piano, Naruto was consumed with jealously but more profoundly was he filled with awe. Snapping his finger at himself, he glowered. _That monster has an ounce of respect from me._

When Neji quietly sat next to him, Hinata sandwiching him in the middle, he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair to push stray strands out of his face. _No thinking about Sasuke!_ He had to study. He looked over at the pony-tailed raven quickly, only to see the male studying as well, and couldn't help but grin.

Neji was very quiet, but he wasn't rude like _some other people_ Naruto knew. He also seemed to have some level of popularity, the blond could tell, but he seemed very humble, if not uncomfortable with all of the adulation. He just didn't seem the 'lime-light' type of person. Anyway, Naruto really appreciated his and Hinata's help. He turned back to the paper before him and read over it some more. When it got to a musical term he didn't quite understand, he leaned over and pointed at it and then waved a sole finger from side to side.

Neji cleared his throat and was about to explain the term to Naruto, but paused to think of a way he could make the blond understand. He was aware that there were things that deaf people honestly _couldn't_ comprehend. He did his research, and it revealed things to him that he'd never considered before. Just as he was about to speak, a shadow loomed over them and whispering from the classmates ensued.

"Move."

Neji, instantly going rigid in irritation, looked up, and Naruto followed the motion, cobalt eyes bulging from their sockets. Neji glared and said, "Why should I, Uchiha?"

Sasuke clenched his jaws.

"Oh my god, what happened to his face?"

"Sasuke's beautiful face!"

There wasn't really any way for this to _not_ end up being a childish war.

Game: Naruto.

What was Sasuke supposed to say? He glanced over at the blond (who still had that owlish look) and rolled his eyes. Perhaps last night when he'd gotten home, he'd realized that he _was_ a complete, pure, unadulterated, inconsiderate _ass_. Sasuke had also realized that there were some things he did to Naruto that weren't really called for (namely everything, except maybe pushing him out of the way of some crazy driver). But also, he'd realized something last night…

Naruto was—

Naruto pursed his lips in concentration, then wrote on his digi-pad, showing the screen to Sasuke when he was done. 'I don't think you realize how much your assholery has no bounds! You didn't even thank me for last night!' it read.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and the last thing anyone thought he would say came from his lips. "I know," he mumbled, teeth gritted.

'I should really make you get on your knees and apologize, you know?'

Sasuke tightened his lips to contain the anger that was welling inside him. The blond wasn't making things any easier for him. Here he was, trying to be a little humble.

'And I really needed your help. I failed two quizzes! And people bullied me like mad!' Naruto pouted angrily.

That was _not _Sasuke's fault. "Don't pin your what happens to you outside of this class on me," he hissed slowly.

Naruto quirked his upper lip in disbelief. Really, Sasuke? 'I'm _so_ sorry that I was so much of a burden to you.' Sarcasm.

"I _get_ it!" Sasuke groused, glaring at Neji as the pony-tailed raven chuckled through his nose. "Mind your business, Hyuuga!"

"A simple apology never killed anyone, Uchiha," Neji said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "Pride comes before the crash."

"Fine. I'm sorry. Now move," Sasuke growled.

Neji rolled his eyes. "How genuine," he murmured sardonically. "Yet such a disrespectful way to be talking to your senior."

"Ah…um…" Hinata started.

"Why the sudden change, anyway?" Neji continued.

"E-Excuse m-me…?"

"None of your business. You must enjoy hearing me speak. Move," Sasuke retorted.

"Excuse me, S-Sasuke-ke!"

Neji and Sasuke turned to Hinata, and the latter of the two nearly reached his hands out to choke the blond, who'd long since tired of the conversation and was now looking at his notes again as if this conversation wasn't about him. The Hyuuga female twiddled her fingers and looked down. "Um, c-can't we all h-help Naruto? You s-sound a bit…" she paused, and then continued, "a bit selfish right now. I _like_ working with Naruto…"

Sasuke glared at her. Damn women and their sense of justice. "Then _you _can move."

Hinata blinked at the raven and then bit her lip, glancing at Naruto quickly. She silently got up from her seat and Sasuke took up the empty space quickly, turning to settle his instrument case and bag down on the other side. He readied himself to turn to Naruto, but grunted in surprise when a strategically poised finger hit his bruised cheek.

Both Hinata and Neji, and anyone else currently watching gawked in disbelief.

"What was that for!" Sasuke hissed, trying to lower the octave of his voice and trying _not_ to rub the sore spot.

Naruto bobbed his head smugly as he turned back to his digi-pad. He wrote slowly, purposefully, and then turned the device to Sasuke. 'You're forgiven now. But you're _required_ to eat lunch with us. You have no free will.' Sasuke rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time at the next comment. 'This time, civility is not an option. Perhaps your white shirt will survive another day.'

"Fine," Sasuke mumbled.

Odd. No argument? No quipped comment? _Huh_. Naruto thinned his eyes in suspicion but accepted the accord nonetheless. _Very, very suspicious. That was way too easy_, Naruto thought, tightening his lips as he glanced askance at the raven. Even with Sasuke's reluctant affirmation, the blond was very doubtful. But surprisingly, Sasuke pulled out his laptop from his bag and, as Ibiki began to lecture the class, he wrote down anything that he deemed important, even supplementing the notes with his own. Naruto pursed his lips and leaned in slightly to look over the raven's shoulder, jerking away when Sasuke waved his hand irritably at him. _Gah, is he even writing notes? Why does he have to hide it from me? He's probably writing death notes._

Sasuke was doing no such thing, but he just hated it when people would lean over him like that. Especially _Naruto_. After a while, Naruto gave up his efforts and just stared at Ibiki intently. When the blond turned to Hinata and made quick hand motions, Sasuke was literally shocked to see her return Naruto's comment with hand gestures as well, slow and meticulous as they were.

He looked at Hinata, then at Naruto, then at the girl again. Hinata blushed slightly under the raven's strong and obviously disapproving gaze, and murmured quietly, "We—we've been pi-picking up on s...some things…" She bit her lip and then pouted, not making eye contact with Sasuke, answering his next silent question: "We also got a DVD that Professor Iruka copied for us."

Neji tapped Naruto lightly with his pencil and gestured something, kicking his chin at Sasuke.

The blond chuckled quietly, glancing at Sasuke and thinning his eyes comically. 'You're right, Neji,' Naruto wrote, angling the digi-pad with the intention of Sasuke seeing it. 'He's _super_ jealous.'

Sasuke glared at the three and clicked his tongue. Sarcastically, he murmured, "Hah, _hah_," with as much loathing as he could have possibly mustered.

**-Silent Sonata-**

"I sort of like our little posse, Sakura," the blond female mumbled as she sat back on the comfortable café seat, looking at her persistent pimple through her compact mirror. "Tch, I've gotta do something about this zit," she groused angrily, poking at the object of her current fascination.

"What do you mean 'posse'?" Sakura asked as she looked at the café entrance. She glanced over at Lee, who was engrossed in a manga. She then turned to Ino and dropped her chin on her fist. "If you keep touching it, you're going to irritate it, Ino. Leave it alone."

"Oh shush. And by posse, I mean _us,_" Ino said in exasperation, motioning to the table they were sitting at as she shut the mirror. "You know, me, you, Lee, Neji, Hinata, and Naruto. To be honest, if it weren't for Naruto, I don't think we'd probably have gotten to know the Hyuugas."

"Oh, yeah, I see what you mean," Sakura said, smiling. It _had _sort of been Naruto that bought them all together, hadn't it? "And Hinata is such a sweet little thing. You know, I think we should do something over Golden Week! Well this Friday is out of the question cuz my mum and I are gonna do stuff together. But then we have Wednesday through Friday to do _something_!" **(1)**

"Oh, wouldn't that be great?" Ino said, slapping Sakura softly in her arm. "I'm too poor to go anywhere at the moment, so doing something for even one day over Golden Week break will give me _some_ excitement!"

"For sure!" Lee interjected suddenly as he closed his book. "Almost all places are gonna be closed up. Party, perchance? Or a little vaycay?"

"Oh fuck me senseless. Am I seeing things correctly?" Ino asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Uh, what?"

"Ino! Your language is so unbecoming of a lady!" Lee said, slighted somewhat at her unbridled tongue.

"Look, look," the blond female said quickly, pointing to the entrance of the café. "Either I'm delusional, or Sasuke is shadowing our friends."

Sakura lifted her head and was surprised to see that there were not three, but _four_ people headed to their table. "Wow, Ino, it seems you're right…" she mumbled. The three sat down instantly, and Naruto and Lee fist-bumped, Neji nodding his head in acknowledgement and Hinata waving awkwardly at them. "Hey, guys," Sakura said, smiling.

Sasuke stood at the table in annoyance. He really didn't want to be there, so he rolled his eyes as he pulled up a chair from the nearby table and sat down with them.

"Sasuke," Lee said coolly, glancing at the raven.

"Lee," Sasuke mimicked. The table went silent for a while, but then Sasuke said unexpectedly, "It's been a while."

"Oh, likewise," the bowl-haired raven replied, grinning. "How've you been?"

Sasuke simply shrugged in reply, then turned to Naruto when the blond threw his hands up in a halting motion.

«Wait, wait…you two know each other?» Naruto asked. «Those two _know_ each other?» he repeated to Sakura.

"'Oh my gosh, Naruto, you must feel so left out!'" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. "'The four of us were in the same high school. Ino, Lee, Sasuke, and I!'"

"Yeah, last week when I was 'excited' that Sasuke was sitting with us, I was only joking," Ino said, laughing lightly. The four of them had intense history with each other.

Naruto kicked back his head slowly in a nod of understanding. «So you guys go way back!»

"'Yeah, we definitely go back,'" Sakura answered. "I skipped a grade and met up with Ino as a freshman. Lee was a grade above me at the time, and Sasuke was a senior." She then turned to Sasuke, who was sitting across from her. "In fact, there was something I needed to give you, Sasuke," she said pleasantly, getting up from her seat and patting Lee on the shoulder reassuringly when she passed him. **(2)**

Sasuke watched Sakura warily as she walked toward him. She didn't _have_ anything in her hand_, _so what could she possibly have to give him? He stilled. _Shit!_ He nearly sprang up from his seat, and most certainly _would _have if not for his pride, so instead, he merely braced himself for what he knew was coming.

Damn, Sakura still had a strong arm. She swung back and punched him _hard_ on the upper arm, and the raven flinched away from the pain because it certainly hurt more than he'd been expecting. He instantly cradled the wound, knowing that it would bruise in mere minutes and then hissed angrily, "You're still insane!"

If the table widened their eyes any more, their eyeballs would probably fall out.

"_That's_ for treating Naruto the way you did the last couple of weeks!" Sakura yelled in exasperation, towering over Sasuke and staring down at him with no nonsense . "Damn it, Sasuke, I would have _thought_ that you'd have grown past your damn stubbornness by now! Get over yourself, _stop acting like a child,_ and pull that pineapple you got stuck in your ass _out!_"

Oh dear. Jaws hit the _floor_.

Even Sasuke's jaw hung a little. This side of Sakura rarely revealed itself; she usually had a bit more restraint. And he had to admit, it was somewhat intimidating.

The rosette seemed to have remembered herself and _where_ she was, and she instantly straightened, but certainly didn't drop her anger. She glared at Sasuke then sat back down, clearing her throat and fixing her tousled skirt. "With that said, you're forgiven—on my part, that is."

The quiet was interrupted by clapping. Well, only one set of hands clapping, and it was coming from the other side of the table. Damn Naruto.

He grinned, clapping, then signed, «Hey, I said _I _was going to be civilized. I certainly didn't say so regarding anyone else!»

Sakura pouted, then murmured the words aloud.

Neji chuckled, staring at Sasuke and then glancing at Sakura. He then laughed harder, shaking his head. "I don't think I've seen anything more gratifying than that, Sakura. You just made my day." He paused. "Nay, nix that. You just made my year."

Sakura haughtily bowed her head and shrugged her shoulders, palms facing up. "Glad to be of service, Neji."

"Now you can graduate this school with many warm memories," Ino said, grinning.

"I just may," Neji said with a grin.

Sasuke glared at them all, then glared at Naruto, who started signing directly at him.

"Oh, don't be such a grump, Sasuke," Sakura said, chuckling slightly as she translated for Naruto. "If we didn't like you somewhat, we wouldn't be talking about you right to your face."

Oh, if looks could kill.

"Oh, by the way, Sasuke," Ino started, tilting her head slightly and scratching her chin. "What happened to your _face_?"

Sasuke sighed.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto was grinning from ear to ear. There was even a hop in his step as cleaned his apartment. What was the cause of his excitement? Golden Week! It was finally Golden Week—three days off from school, work, and pure _relaxation _was in view. _Thank_. _God._ But those weren't the only reasons for his current excitement, no. He finally had an opportunity to do the one thing he'd been craving—dying—to do since he moved here alone.

Sakura, Ino, and Lee had even mentioned at the table a few days ago that they wanted to do something exciting and fun over Golden Week, and Naruto was on top of the idea: _Party!_

It was the end of another week, and Naruto was having everyone over, and Kiba was totally excited for it too! Hell, he'd even told Kiba to invite that kid in his class that he seemed to tolerate—Shino or whatever the brunette had said his name was. The kid was cool enough, apparently. And there was so much pleasure in having older friends like Neji, and even Chouji, who'd just turned 20 two days ago. One word:

Alcohol.

Yes, Naruto intended to get inebriated, drunk, intoxicated. And party! In preparation, he'd sent out a mass text message the other day to everyone, and he had gotten a few responses without much hesitation: Ino said that she was 'So _there_!', Neji had responded that he would graciously supply alcohol, Chouji said he'd bring some food from the restaurant, and Shikamaru complained for a bit about wanting to sleep, but gave in anyway.

This was going to be so fun. Now he was waiting for them all to show up. He had an hour or so, and he was waiting for Kiba to show with some food and drinks. The brunet had planned on dropping Akamaru off at the pet store so that he wouldn't have to worry about the fox, so when he walked in with his bags and holding on to Akamaru's leash, Naruto was a little surprised. «I thought you said you were gonna drop him off at the pet store?» Naruto asked as he continued placing small electrical strobe lights on various surfaces. To say that he wasn't excited for this would have been a lie. Parties were for dancing and drinking, and Naruto loved them both!

Kiba shrugged, dropping his bags on the coffee table. "'Well, I thought about it,'" he started, "'but then I said to myself, 'Akamaru is going to be a total chick-magnet.' So he stays for the night. For a while at least. I'll put him in the kennel in the back when I'm ready,'" he reasoned.

Naruto nodded in understanding. He quickly moved over to his amp, which he'd rented from a store before it closed for Golden Week, and adjusted it so that the bass was considerably high by normal standards. Hey, he wanted to enjoy the music too, and the only way he could do that was if he felt the vibrations. While waiting for the guests, Naruto passed his time playing a video game.

About an hour later, the red lights went off, and Naruto quickly shuffled to the door to open it. Kiba was still in the kitchen putting some foodstuffs in bowls and plates, so he left the door-answering to Naruto, who was just sitting on the couch patiently playing video games.

"Hey! Naruto! You! _You!_" Ino pointed at the blond with a grin, wavering slightly as she sauntered in.

Naruto tried to hold his grin back. «She's already drunk?» he asked Sakura, who merely rolled her eyes, hand in Lee's back pocket.

"'My god, Naruto, forget it. When Ino hears the word 'party', she will somehow get drunk, even if there _isn't _any alcohol served.'"

"Hey! I _heard_ that, forehead girl!" Ino mumbled, lunging toward Naruto's couch. "Oh, so comfy," she murmured when she landed.

"'Wow, Naruto! You have a nice place!'" Lee said, looking around discreetly.

"Oh, I need to pee…" Ino murmured with a groan, shimmying on the couch.

"Yo guys!" Kiba said from the opening of the kitchen as soon as he saw them walk in. "Hold on a second, I'm gonna bring out some stuff."

Naruto was about to close the door, but a hand stopped the motion, and he looked behind the door curiously, head reeling back in shock. He _really_ hadn't banked on Sasuke showing up. Sasuke glided past Naruto and headed for the couch instantly, barely acknowledging the blond._ Well hi to you too, buddy_, he thought sarcastically, but not taking the action to heart. He closed the door this time and headed for his music player, putting up the volume and nearly laughing when he saw Ino struggling to lean against Sasuke, whereas the raven glaringly pushed her by the shoulder.

The red lights went off again and Naruto went to the door as Kiba put things down on the counter top and coffee table. Not before long, everyone Naruto and Kiba had invited was there—Chouji (with _real _food, thank god!), Shikamaru, TenTen, Shino, Neji (who did the deed of providing the _drinks_), and Hinata.

It was quite interesting how small the world was. As soon as Lee saw TenTen come in with Shikamaru and Chouji, he'd literally jumped up from where he was sitting on the floor and bowled over the female. It was awkward, but understood. They were cousins, apparently. If not to cause further excitement, the two of them threw everyone off by speaking Mandarin with each other.

Apparently, Lee was half Chinese, which Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke, _did_ know, and his maternal aunt was TenTen's mother. She was staying here with her father (as her parents were divorced), and Lee didn't even _know_ about her being here until now!

What was more, Shino, _Kiba's_ school mate, had graduated with Hinata from high school, so he already knew both her and Neji. The two had been in many classes together and they were close friends. They hadn't seen each other since graduation.

The tense aura that results in people not knowing each other dissipated after that as everyone caught up with each other and ate. To further ease the tension, the girls huddled around Akamaru when he'd pushed himself out of Naruto's and Kiba's bedroom and sauntered into the room.

Kiba gave Naruto a knowing stare, wiggling his eyebrows. Silently, he signed to Naruto, «What did I say? I'm pure genius.»

The other males rolled their eyes as soon as the girls began fawning over the fox, interesting as it was to have it for a pet. Naruto stood up and went to his computer to change the music and raise the volume as he dimmed down the regular lights and flicked on the strobe lights.

The blond nodded his head, putting his hand atop the amp to feel the beat. As soon as he started playing the older song, Sakura and Ino gasped.

"Oh my god! I remember this song!" the blond female screamed, scrambling up and suddenly losing interest in Akamaru. "You didn't, Naruto!"

"It's been ages since I've heard it!" Sakura agreed as she, too, stood.

Kiba scooped up Akamaru and, though ignored, said, "I'll be right back," and motioned to Naruto, who nodded. He left the apartment quickly.

"Oh, man!" Ino said. "It _has_ been ages. Remember when the dance for this song was so popular?" She stood up and started dancing, remembering the gang choreography that this song was popular for.

Sakura laughed at her, and shaking her head incredulously, starting dancing too. "Oh, come on Lee," Sakura said, turning around. "Don't act like you don't know this! You're the biggest closet ParaPara fan I know!" **(3)**

Lee blushed madly, then turned away. "No way! I don't know what you're talking about!" he objected, looking at Ino and Sakura again a moment later. They were having so much fun, and he wasn't included. "…Okay fine!" He relented, got up, and started dancing too.

Sasuke watched with mild interest. To think that 'Para Para Paradise' was growing in popularity again made him shiver. He'd never been a fan of it, even when it _was_ incredibly popular when he was younger.

But what surprised everyone was when Naruto turned around from the amp, tapping his hand on it loudly, with _the_ largest grin on his face.

By this time, Kiba was back and he was smiling with amusement, but as soon as he saw that look on Naruto's face, he groaned. "Oh god," he murmured. "I told him not to bring in any of this Para Para crap, and what does he do…?"

The male blond seemingly floated from the amp and clapped his hand and nodded his head to keep to the beat as he found himself a place among Lee, Sakura, and Ino. Then he started dancing with them. So all of them were closet ParaPara fans. Because after _Naruto_ braved dancing with them, even TenTen jumped in, and then Hinata shyly as well. Kiba stared for another short moment and begrudgingly joined. After that, they only wanted to hear ParaPara song after song.

Sasuke, Shino, Neji, Chouji, and Shikamaru quietly sat back and chose _not_ to make fools of themselves, but rather indulged in the food or the alcohol or the video games that Naruto had spread before them. After a while, the soundtracks turned to other songs, both foreign and Japanese, and Naruto grabbed Ino, Sakura, or Tenten's hand and danced with them. Hinata excused herself and sat back down by this time, laughing in amusement.

All Naruto needed was a beat, and he was good for the night.

Naruto was quite an accomplished dancer, some people noticed.

_Damn, way too much alcohol_. There was something about the way the blond currently moved that made Sasuke clear his throat.

They were going wild, and the alcohol was _not_ helping to calm the _hormones_. So their movements became, if anything, quite languid.

Things _did_ eventually die down, and an hour or so later they were all beat. Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata were all sitting on the floor, huddled together and talking about things the males either had no clue about or didn't want to get involved with. All the guys, with the exception of Naruto and Sasuke, were playing cards energetically while watching the last couple of innings of a baseball game from another country. Naruto was just sitting at one end of the couch, tired and most certainly drunk, while Sasuke sat on the other end, watching the card game.

After a few minutes of hooting and laughing, Sakura and Ino looked at each other and then simultaneously yelled out, "Intimate time! Boys must join!"

The guys moaned and rolled their eyes, slapping down their cards. They could hear the words 'spin','bottle', 'truth', and 'dare' in one sentence, and they knew the girls were up to no good. They neared the girls on the floor, and Kiba signed to Naruto what they were doing, the blond jumping up from his seat excitedly and then stopping.

He turned around and beckoned Sasuke over.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto with a deadpanned expression, and then said, "I'm fine."

Naruto, obviously not _taking_ the 'I'm fine' for an answer, t'sked, grabbed the raven by the wrist, and yanked him from his seat onto the floor.

Sasuke found himself seated between Naruto and Chouji. He was already dreading where this could possibly lead.

"Rocks, Paper, Scissors says winner goes first!" Lee yelled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes again, but played none the less. When the ultimate winner, Shino, was revealed, he cleared his throat and then spun the bottle. It landed on Ino. "Truth or dare?" he said in a low voice.

Ino scoffed, and said as if it was the most obvious thing in the word, "Uh, dare?"

And so it went back and forth. By the time most people had gone, Chouji ended up with his underwear on his head (and lamented that today was a bad day to have chosen briefs instead of boxers), Tenten had her hair was down and was currently without a shirt, Hinata had sung an embarrassing rendition of a popular and ridiculous commercial, Shino had eaten several insects that were caught in Naruto's sticky fly catcher, Lee used a marker to draw in a unibrow, Neji's hair was braided and bowed in several places, Ino was _not_ a natural blond, Sakura _wasn't_ a virgin and her first crush had been on Sasuke, and Shikamaru's guilty pleasure was playing go and chess with his father. Most people had gone with a dare.

"Truth or dare, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked, chin in his palm.

"Nn…I'm gonna go with truth," Kiba murmured, "Only because I always choose dare and end up looking like an ass…"

Shikamaru, having hoped that Kiba would have picked dare, sighed, and thought up something. "Mm, what's your type?"

Kiba cocked his eyebrow. "'That's the best you could come up with? Really? _You're_ my type, Shikamaru!'" The comment elicited laughter, but then he waved his hand. "'Okay, seriously. Ah…I guess…the good girl," he murmured. "Someone real small and, er, cute. Who needs, er, protecting.'" He blushed slightly and flitted his eyes at Hinata.

The female caught his quick glance and gasped quietly, looking away as she balled her fists over her knees and blushed as well.

"Aah…" Ino said, pointing at Kiba. _None _of them missed that wordless interaction between Kiba and Hinata. "Aah!" she said again, pointing this time at Hinata.

"Wah!" Sakura squealed, pointing from Hinata to Kiba as she smacked Ino in the arm.

"They would totally be so cute together!" Ino said.

"Wouldn't they, though?" Sakura responded.

Neji glared at Kiba disapprovingly.

"I feel like they would be cute would happen if they went out," TenTen said quietly. Neji turned to her and glared. "It's sort of fitting for them…! He's this rough loud guy, and she's so quiet!" she added defensively.

The braided raven lingered his gaze on her and the room went quiet again when Hinata glanced at Kiba.

Lee cleared his throat loudly and dramatically, and Kiba shook his head when Naruto nudged him in the rib, waggling his brows. "Er, anyway…" Kiba scratched his chin nervously. "Anyway, I'm gonna spin now." He spun the bottle in the center and it landed on Naruto, who picked dare. "'Dude! Sweet! I crocked up the best dare for you, dude…!'" Naruto was drunk enough, and there was no way he would do this on regular terms.

Naruto rolled his eyes. «What?»

"'Down to the undies, my friend! The ladies need a show! You need to finish what you started earlier!'" To be honest, Kiba just wanted an excuse for everyone to loosen up some more and probably pair off.

Naruto paused for a moment, glaring at Lee. He wasn't the type to back down from a dare, no matter what, but seriously? He had a few scars on his back… He pouted, shaking his head.

"Oh god, finally!" Ino hollered. "I've been waiting all night for this! No backing out!" she added, clapping her hands. Sakura chimed in too, and TenTen, only because she didn't want to be alone, called out too. "And make it sexy!" Ino added.

Naruto dropped his shoulders and shook his fist at Kiba. Well, it was a little dark, so they probably wouldn't see too much, and they were mostly likely all drunk enough to forget this. So Naruto stood up, nodding his head when he saw the three girls shrieked excitedly. «A beat please?» he asked.

Sakura and Ino conceded, clapping their hand to make a beat. Everyone started clapping (Sasuke had no sportsmanship, though), and Naruto bobbed his head and started peeling off his clothes to the beat. Slowly and, to please the females, quite sexily. It caused the girls to scream excitedly, and then he threw his clothes at them, in which they jokingly fought over.

Sasuke definitely had too much alcohol. He cleared his throat again and breathed out unsteadily, rubbing the tips of his fingers together.

The blond sat back down when was finished and heaved out a breath he'd been holding. No one had stopped at the couple of scars he had, but Ino had definitely reached out her hand at the tattoo that the blond had around his navel and patted it. It was a few months old. Jiraiya hadn't been too happy about it. He reached out and spun the bottle. It landed on Ino, again, and she and Sakura ended up switching each other's clothes—_all_ their clothes—in the bathroom. She didn't fail to express her contempt at having to wear Sakura's _smaller_ bra.

They bickered too much. When Ino spun the bottle and it finally landed on Sasuke. "Finally," she drawled. She'd been waiting for the bottle to fall on Sasuke at _some _time. "So..._Sasuke_, what do you choose?" she asked daringly, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but they could definitely see the small smile playing at his lips. "Dare."

"Oh, _really_…" Ino murmured, drumming her fingertips in a no-good manner. She stood up from her spot and grabbed her bag, opening it and pulling out her scarf. "Dare, you say?" she asked naughtily. She walked over to the raven, stood behind him, and tied the scarf over his eyes. She waved her hands over his eyes, getting no reaction, but then Neji stuck up his middle finger at the raven. When Sasuke didn't reply, Ino nodded. "Okay, then, Sasuke. Stand up and take a couple steps back."

Sasuke sighed but did so anyway. As soon as he stepped back, she motioned for Chouji and Naruto to fill the gap. "What is this?" the raven asked testily, somewhat regretting taking a dare from Ino.

"Just do as I say, Sasuke," Ino ordered. The raven sighed. He was going to dread this. _And I'm going to enjoy this, _the blond female though.

_Oh hell no…_ "No way," He murmured, about to pull off the blindfold. "I trust you the least, Ino."

"A dare is a dare, my friend!" Lee yelled.

"Don't be such a party pooper!" Kiba agreed. "You've been like a pole like all night. Let lose for half a minute, _fuck_!"

Sasuke hissed. "That's what you say until Ino forces us to make out with each other," he murmured.

"Hey! I'm confident enough with my sexuality that I could make out with anyone in this room, bitch!" Kiba retorted.

"Ladies, ladies, _please_ stop fighting," Ino said mockingly. "Sasuke, hold your hand out," she ordered. Sasuke sighed heavily and did as told, making a face when he felt her grab his hand. She guided him back to the circle of friends, resting his hand on someone's shoulder. "Okay, now walk."

Sasuke stepped forward, in a blind version of the duck-goose game. He halted when Ino told him to, turned a 180 and reversed his steps, reversed again when Ino told him to, and finally went in a full circle and a half before his hand stopped on someone. He couldn't determine what Ino's intentions were, but if he remembered anything from the past, he knew that nothing good could come from this. He snarled when he heard a couple of snorts.

"Well, ah, Sasuke." He heard Ino snicker mischievously. "It seems you have chosen someone to, erm, suck face with," Ino said, pausing in laughter.

Damn it, _first_ Ino and Sakura and Lee had dragged him to this damn party—_Which I didn't want to come to in the first place_!—and now he was going to suck face with some random person? _I **knew** she would do something like this._ Still, a dare was indeed a dare, and Sasuke wasn't the type of person to back out. He grabbed the blindfold to pull it off.

"No! No, no! Pft! You can't take it off!" Ino snorted. "Ah, you have to do it for a minute."

Sasuke t'sked, then cruelly grabbed the roots of the persons hair and hauled them up. He briefly noted that the hair was short. _That leaves me with Hinata, Lee, Chouji, Naruto, Shino, or Kiba. The likelihood that it's Hinata is very slim. I will be making out with a **ma****le**_, Sasuke resigned. _It was easy to lift this person up, so it can't be Chouji, _he further calculated. "Couch?" he asked testily. Ino directed him, and he sat, feeling the weight of someone sitting with him. "Fuck it, I'll just get this over with," he murmured. Hell, he was slightly drunk himself, so this would only be but a dream—or a nightmare—tomorrow.

Without further ado, he blindly reached his hand forward and touched a shoulder. He guided his hand to the neck, and then to the jaw. He breathed out a sigh. He wrapped his fingers around the person's cranium and pulled them forward, leaning forward as well, trying to at least feel the person breathing so he wouldn't look like a complete dunce.

"I can't watch this," someone murmured from a few yards away. It sounded like Kiba. Thank _god_ it wasn't him he was going to be making out with, then. That then left Naruto, Shino, or Lee. But the hair didn't feel straight, and he knew Lee's hair was _bone _straight. This narrowed the person down to Naruto or Shino. "I'll spin for Sasuke," Kiba continued.

It seemed that he and Shino/Naruto would be given some privacy if they continued with the game.

Well, he delayed the inevitable far enough, so, dipping his head forward, he began his thirty seconds of hell. Either Shino or Naruto wasn't very good at kissing. Their jaw was tight, but the mouth was open, probably out of unease.

Offended somewhat that this person was making this difficult for him—and making him look like a fool—Sasuke pulled them forward and worked his jaw. It was somewhat effective, causing his counterpart to lose some inhibition. The two of them began to exchange the service with each other. _Not that bad, _Sasuke thought after a couple more seconds. He leaned further and pushed whoever it was back until there was a bit of resistance. The were probably at the each of the couch, with the other person's back against the armrest.

"Oh my god."

"What? What is it? Oh...oh my. Wow. And I'm turning away."

"Okay," Sasuke heard, but was too distracted to think on it. This was turning out to be much better than he thought it would be.

"Okay, um, Sasuke, time is up…"

"He's _totally_ into it!"

"Ew, seriously? Oh, god. Chill _the fuck_ out!"

He surmised that he was taking things a little far. He certainly didn't remember _both_ his hands holding this person's jaw, and he certainly didn't remember putting his knee on the couch for better leverage. He certainly didn't remember that. Something suddenly changed in the air, and the pleasant buzz that he'd felt stopped as the mouth against his stopped working, as if the person that he was making out with didn't want this anymore. He felt a hand push him up slightly. His mind suddenly cleared—

"Yeah, Sasuke, that sexy and all, but _time!_"

—and he sat up and pulled off his blindfold quickly.

Most everyone whooped when he got a good look at the blond beneath him, but he was positive that they didn't see the look on Naruto's face. There was _no doubt_ in his mind that Naruto had a look of anxiety in his eyes.

He simply got off the blond, throwing his blindfold at Ino, and took a deep breath as he sat back, gliding his fingers through his hair.

Naruto, at full senses and somewhat sobered, sat up, blinking wildly at Sasuke, and then got off the couch. He quickly played it off and grinned at everyone before picking up his clothes from the floor. He put them on quickly (in which Ino and Sakura booed) and went to the bathroom. «I'm gonna go rinse out my mouth!» he grinned, wiping his mouth.

Kiba looked at Naruto knowingly and wordless interaction ensued for a mere two seconds before the blond turned away and went to the bathroom.

When Naruto walked back into the room after a minute or so, he sat back down on the floor.

"That made my night…" Ino whispered to Sakura, stealing a glance at Naruto.

Sakura coughed, and Kiba rolled his eyes. "That's indelibly etched on my brain," he murmured.

Ino grinned and looked over at Sakura. There were certain things about Sasuke that only she, Sakura, and Lee knew. _Oh, this is just perfect, _she thought.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**(1)** **Golden Week:** It's federal a Japanese holiday that lasts a week, a different holiday each day (April 29, May 3-5). Most businesses _and_ schools are closed. At least I think the schools are closed. If not, this is fiction...

**(2) In Japan, high schools are from grades 10-12, not the typical 9-12 as in America**

**(3)** There are two versions of ParaParaParadise. The video game version, and the dance version. They are doing the dance version. Dance version example: http : / www . youtube . com /watch? v= LE2Ow1AiySE . They were doing the dance version. or /watch? v=IgGlAd3tq4o

**Comment: **Finally these people let loose. I hope you enjoyed.


	12. Part II: Espressivo

**Comment**: This chapter is a long chapter. Please enjoy it.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Espressivo**

**.o.**

**.  
**

The game that everyone was involved in was played only a few more times, with everyone choosing to reveal a truth instead of being dared into something as dangerous as what they'd just seen a few minutes before. It died out, but Ino, who seemed to be an animal in the party area, had somehow gotten another bottle of alcohol and teetered toward the wall, leaning against it for support as she hummed naughtily. "It's not fair that they can have _all _the fun!" She'd said.

Ino laughed again, staring at some _thing_ on the wall, then quirked her brow. "I know what we need to do, guys," she drawled. "_Guys! _Heh! Sasuke, you're not gonna have all the…_all_ the fun!" She pointed a shaky finger at Sasuke and waggled it at him.

"We _all_ need to make out!" Ino continued. And then she switched out the light, shrouding everyone in complete darkness. "Find someone to make out with!"

"Whoa! Turn the light back on!" Kiba yelled instantly, standing up.

"Ah, you're a pooper! It'll be funnn…"

"Ino, babe, this isn't your house. Just put the lights back on."

"You, too, Sakura?" Ino whined.

"Turn it back _on_!" Kiba growled, his voice brooking no amusement.

Then there was a sound. A soft sound, really; it was a was a soft, drawling, wraith-like moan. It was a desperate sound, fleeting as it was. And then a series noise: that of someone shuffling, crawling, _stumbling_ even, and it drowned out any comments. It lasted for a few seconds, and then that someone bumped into _something_.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Seriously, Ino!" Kiba hissed, trying to find his way to the light switch. It was as if he didn't know the make up of the apartment anymore, because he struck his hand out and blindly tried to find the light switch. His mind had drawn a blank, and all he could do was worry.

There was always a faint night-light in his and Naruto's bedroom. There was another one in the small hall by the bathroom. There was a _reason_ why they were positioned there. Their purpose was to provide a sufficient amount of light, however, in this room, they were useless.

Sasuke jerked in shock when he felt a particularly hard bump against the couch, and he certainly couldn't quell his surprise when a hand hastily and blindly slapped over his shoulder for a moment—"Wha!"—and was gone the next.

_Everyone _jumped when the piano keys suddenly blared to raucous life, like a child randomly slamming untrained fingers in cacophonous tunes.

"What the hell was that!" Ino asked as she switched the lights back on.

Everything was where it had been, except Kiba was near Ino at the wall, Tenten and Neji were a lot closer to each other then they had been, and…and Naruto was gone.

"Fuck…" Kiba murmured, walking toward the piano. It really didn't take much effort to find Naruto, huddled safely in the corner. Damn, Naruto was shaking. And no one could really see—unless they were by the couch—the way Naruto seized when Kiba touched his shoulder. "_Fuck_," the brunet murmured again. He stood straight, and, literally barricading Naruto from view (though the piano did half of the job for him), he said, "Guys, I think it's time to call it a night."

And the strangest thing was that—without any questions asked—everyone conceded, knowing that something hat gone wrong. Somehow, they understood.

**-Silent Sonata-  
**

But as Naruto came through the doorway of Ibiki's classroom, everything _seemed _fine. He grinned, climbing up to the usual row, and clapped Neji on the shoulder before settling down. «Did you guys study for the test?» he asked worriedly.

Neji and Hinata blinked at each other quietly then looked at Naruto strangely. Hinata cleared up her throat and uneasily shifted in her seat. She tilted her head slightly and then asked, "'N-Naruto, are you o-okay…?'"

Naruto jokingly mocked her pose, canting his head innocently, and asked, «What do you mean?»

Neji rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat. "On Fr...F-Friday, you s-seemed—"

«Oh! That! I'm fine.» Naruto smirked, nodding. «I just drank too much. I tend to do that,» He finished. Neji and Hinata shared a look and Naruto waved his hand at them. «Forget about it! Anyway—»

Sasuke walked into the classroom, bag slung over his shoulder, face betraying no emotion.

Naruto looked away awkwardly when Sasuke drew closer and faced Hinata and Neji, continuing. «Anyway, did you guys study?» he asked again, looking slightly panicked.

"Did _you_ study?" Neji retorted smartly.

Naruto sagged his shoulders and looked at them guiltily. «A little…» He glanced at Sasuke and then looked away quickly when the raven caught his stare and quirked his lip downward.

Hinata shook her head in pity. "You sh-should study, Naruto," she berated.

«…Cheat for me?»

"I think _not!_" the long haired raven yelled out.

«You're terrible friends!» the blond pouted.

Hinata giggled, and Neji glared. "I'm a _damn_ good friend, bitch."

Naruto's mouth hung open. «You've been hanging around Kiba too much!»

"Right, considering I only met him once," Neji murmured, rolling his eyes.

Sasuke, in the row above them with his arms crossed, eyed the blond warily. First of all, the cheeky blond was definitely ignoring him. Secondly, what had that been that night at the party? He was sure that no one else saw it, but he was sitting on the couch when the lights were turned back on, so he saw everything. Even if he _hadn't_ seen it, it was all so suspicious. How could no one have noticed?

No matter. As soon as Ibiki walked in, it was no nonsense. Everyone was made to sit with an empty seat on either side of them, and Sasuke was forced to sit in the back so that he wouldn't be a distraction—or cheating aid—to Naruto during the test.

And he could tell that Naruto needed the help from time to time. Ibiki was a cruel professor. He wasn't the multiple-answer type of person. In fact, he limited the multiple-answer questions to a few. The rest was matching and essay questions. So the blond wasn't exactly the only one tugging at the roots of his hair by the end of the test.

The raven smirked at Naruto's struggle, then left to use the bathroom. By the time he returned, the test was over and Ibiki, in a rare display of sympathy, ended the class without giving a lecture.

"I hope you all remember that this Saturday is the trip to the National Museum of Art in Osaka (1)! Attendance is mandatory!" The professor yelled in his booming voice as he held his papers. "Anyone who doesn't attend is getting a failing quiz grade tacked into your average!"

"Isn't that unconstitutional?" one of the students asked. "Besides, it's so far away!"

Ibiki ignored the student and continued. "We will meet by the stairs of the museum at 10:45! Here is my cellular number incase an emergency arises." He wrote the number on the board. "_If _you cannot meet with the class because of unforeseen circumstances, _let me know_ so that you can make it to the museum at your own personal time!"

Students moaned.

"Class dismissed! And no prank calls on my phone!"

There was murmuring abound, and Sasuke, grabbing his sac, rolled his eyes. He'd come here for absolutely no reason. And now he was going to eat with them in the café. He rolled his eyes again and mumbled incoherencies at the thought of eating with them. When Neji turned around and gave him a pointed look, a look that didn't show malice or anger, but that showed curiosity, he simply raised his brows in question.

The long haired raven said nothing and turned back around, and Sasuke lowered his brows in confusion. What was that about…?

Anyway, when he thought about it, it wasn't as if someone was forcing his hand to eat at the café with them. But when they arrived in the lunch room and sat at the table, Naruto waved awkwardly at Sakura and Ino. He gushed at the blond female with a sly smirk. «You're such a party animal, Ino!»

Ino nodded proudly, raising her shoulders. "'What can I do?'"' she asked. "'It's in my blood.'"

Naruto grinned and then asked, «Where's Lee?»

Sakura smiled and answered, "'Oh, he had to stick around at the dojo today. His sensei went to a convention, so he's taking care of the lessons for today.'"

Naruto's eyebrows rose. «A dojo!» Sakura nodded. «He works at a dojo? He must be really good! What kind of style does he do?»

Sakura lowered her brows. "'Ah, he's kind of good at anything involved in direct, hand-to-hand combat—Judo, _all_ types of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Kick-Boxing. There's also a style that he's studying on developing which will sort of be a mixture of Judo and meditation. I forget what it's called…'"

Naruto waddled in his seat excitedly while listening to Sakura, not even noticing that everyone else had gotten up to get some food. «That's ultra cool! I've been wanting to take some self-defense classes.»

Sakura shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "'Nn, you should talk to Lee about it, then! I've been at his dojo for about 3 years now and I'm a green belt.'"

Naruto looked at the strawberry-blonde worriedly, his expression humorous. «You could totally kick my ass…» he said. «No _wonder_ you pack a punch…»

Sakura laughed and nodded. "'Most likely,'" she said haughtily, albeit jokingly.

Ino sat next to Sakura with her food tray and stared at Naruto through her long bang, lips turned down. What happened on Friday night…she was sure that she wasn't the only one curious about it. But she also felt terrible about it. It was her fault.

The blond got up to get some food, and when he returned a few minutes later, Ino tilted her head and glanced at everyone as the blond munched into his food.

_All _of them were glancing at Naruto, and either he didn't notice, or he was purposefully ignoring them. Ino slyly turned her face away, mouth slightly cradled by her hand, and murmured, "Awkward…"

"Did—did anyone f...find out what h-happened?" Hinata coughed into her hand.

Ino tightened her lips and then beat her hand on the table to get Naruto's attention. When the blond looked up at her, noodles hanging from his lips, she smiled painfully. "Ah…I wanted to apologize for what I did at the party, though," she said.

It was brief, but Ino and Sakura definitely saw it. It was the most chilling thing, really. Naruto's raised brows lowered, and he broke eye contact with them if only for about two seconds, looking down, to the side, and down again. He looked entirely troubled. But just like that, the look was gone and he was grinning at them again. He waved his hand in dismissal.

«I have a problem when the lights go out,» Naruto started. «Especially when I don't expect it. I mean, I'm deaf, so when the lights turn out and I can't see on top of not being able to hear, I get disoriented and then I get vertigo,» he finished explaining. _Eat it. Don't ask anymore questions—just take it_… he thought.

Sakura translated it and everyone nodded.

«And I was drunk on top of that, so why don't we multiply the vertigo times a million?» the blond tacked on with a grin.

It definitely made sense, but Sasuke was surprised that everyone bought it. He'd seen Naruto from where he was on the couch, and that was _not_ vertigo. But who was he to confront this matter when everyone else believed Naruto? There must be a good reason for the deception.

Letting it go for now, the raven bent over his plate, about to take in some of the rice, and suddenly got lost in thought. And what had that been when Naruto pushed him away? Naruto had conceded part way through the kiss—that was easy to tell. But could it have been that the only reason he was okay with it was because he was drunk? Because it seemed that very soon after he'd cornered the blond and he'd pushed him down, Naruto's hand was plastered against his chest, pushing at him.

Damn, it was definitely coming back to him. He hadn't remembered it all at first, but bits and pieces came together over the span of the weekend. At first, when Naruto had pushed at him, he'd flicked the blonde's hand away. He'd even heard Naruto hitch his breath, and Naruto stopped working his jaw, as if suddenly realizing the situation he was in.

And then he felt Naruto push him harder. That was when he'd stopped. That was when he'd sat up and pulled off the blindfold. And when he saw Naruto's face, the blonde's eyes were deeply pensive, lost almost, his lips tightly shut, and his expression holding nothing back.

He'd definitely been reliving a memory that'd left him haunted.

What had it been, though?

He jerked back to attention when Sakura poked him, dropping the rice from his chopsticks.

"Sasuke," the strawberry-blonde whispsered. "You were frozen for a while there…"

Sasuke stared at her blankly and shook his head, as if telling her not to pursue the statement. His eyes roved slightly as he picked at his rice again, and he paused again midway to the food entering his mouth. What was that? Did Naruto just glance at him?

What the hell…?

Curiosity always got the better of Sasuke. It was definitely a curse.

**-Silent Sonata-**

It was obvious to the young professor that his pupil wasn't focused. He stood over the blond, arms crossed and face tensed, and watched him play. It was as if Naruto had reverted to the first couple of weeks that he'd been helping him.

It was pitiful to watch. Not pitiful in the "Oh my goodness, this is so terrible that I can't watch it" sense. No, it was just so sad to see that Naruto wasn't enjoying what he was doing right now. It was terrible to see that the blond was obviously forcing himself to play, externally hitting notes, but internally worrying about something troubling. It didn't even sound _terrible_, but it just sounded so terribly saddening—completely opposite of the piece he was studying.

Naruto paused for a moment over the chords he'd just played and heaved a sigh, lost in thought. But just like that, he focused in again on the piano and picked up where he left off.

He didn't realize that he'd been playing like this for the past few minutes, pausing randomly and then playing again.

Naruto stopped again and literally _jumped_ when Iruka placed his hand on his shoulder. He whithered somewhat, and looked up hesitantly at his professor. He smiled emptily and blinked, holding his hand up and saying simply, «Sorry…»

Iruka shook his head, and said slowly, "Naruto, we all have our off days. It happens."

Naruto gave a nod and then typed on his digi-pad, 'But I'm wasting your time. It makes me feel even worse.'

Iruka waved his hand in dismissal then put his hand on hips, stretching his back. When he was done stretching, he faced Naruto again, apologizing with a blush. "Naruto, we all cope with our problems different ways. Some of us tell people, some of us write it out, others draw it or paint, and others play music. I've heard of other ways to help. Would you like to talk about what is on your mind?"

Naruto smiled slightly and wrote up, 'When I was in my last year of high school, I was in the track team. Running was as mindless a task to get involved in.'

Iruka grinned. "I would have thought that it would have been painting! Didn't you get into this school on a full scholarship because of a painting that you did when you were in high school?"

Naruto pursed his lip and nodded. 'It was really a fluke, I swear.'

"Oh," Iruka murmured, sitting at the chair next to the piano. "But I heard that you're a very good artist."

Naruto shrugged. 'I guess. I did it a lot when I was younger, but I've never been too gung-ho about it…' he finished, sitting back so that Iruka could read the message.

"So what are you really into, Naruto?" the professor asked, propping his elbow on the piano and dropping his head in his hand while throwing his ankle over his knee.

Naruto looked down for a moment, straightening his lip. He turned to Iruka, canting his head slightly, and responded simply, «I love music.»

Iruka smiled, nodding.

«I love it a lot, actually.»

The professor's smile widened. "And, have you ever used music to channel your emotions? You said that running seemed to help. But what about music? Have you ever used it to 'let it all out'?"

Naruto shut his eyes for a second, and it looked to Iruka as if he was debating on something for a moment, like an internal struggle. When the blond looked at him again, he let out a sigh, chewing on his lip before typing something and turning the screen to Iruka.

'I want to tell you something, but you have to swear that you won't ask any questions.'

Iruka looked at the message and his heart fell to his stomach with the weight of an anvil. It wasn't anything weighty at all, but he knew that if the words had been spoken, the seriousness of the tone would make him possibly wilt in his seat. He looked back at Naruto and gave a solemn nod.

Naruto, breathed in deeply. _I can't believe I'm doing this…_ he thought. He was slightly frightened, but he felt that if he expressed this to Iruka, it would help him. He knew it would. He knew Iruka would use the information to help him. The stylus pen wavered over the pad for a moment, before he wrote up the message to Iruka. He pounded on the surface a few times and began writing again. He turned the small device to the professor and looked away, cradling his face in his palms.

Iruka read the sentence, but he had to read it again. In fact, he had to read it over and over. Yet, the more he read it, the more nauseated he became. So much so that he had to sit forward, elbow on his knee and hand covering his mouth.

'I almost hate music. I feel like it mocks me.'

Somehow, the professor couldn't understand what Naruto meant at first when he read that statement. Hate it? It made his stomach pinch. But then he read the words a few empty lines later, and it was like he got a sudden grasp of what Naruto was feeling, what Naruto was missing, what _real _potential was inside of Naruto.

'I wasn't born deaf.'

Deaf. Naruto wasn't deaf his whole life. He knew sound. It made Iruka ill. He was literally _sick to his stomach_. He looked up at Naruto and the blond was staring back at him. "How long—"

Naruto held up his hand and shook his head. _I told you, don't ask questions. Don't ask…_

Iruka looked at the device again and shut his eyes. How painful. How painful it must be for Naruto. To have something so glorious completely ripped away from him...that was pure agony. To have something so rich be taken from him, to have his hearing taken away from him. It must have been the equivalent of death.

And hadn't Naruto told him before that he'd had very few music lessons when he was young? That he'd had a recital when he was young?

And just like that, a million scenarios popped into the professor's head. When Naruto lost his hearing—however he lost his hearing—did he completely lose faith in music? Did he really love music beforehand? Did he hate music after?

What happened to him?

What was it that made Naruto want to play music again?

How frustrating it must have been for him…

He then looked at Naruto suddenly. _My god, he must have amazing memory to still be able to play the piano…_ he thought. _Or his sense of touch must…oh my god!_ He suddenly stared at the blond incredulously. Among all of his buzzing thoughts, something stood out among the others. He needed to test this theory, but he was sure of it. He _needed_ to test this.

"Naruto, I need you to do something for me!" Iruka suddenly said, standing up abruptly, which caused the blond to jerk back in surprise.

Naruto raised his hand slowly and asked slowly, «What…?»

Iruka stood over the piano and took the blonde's hand, placing it in the piano, on a part of the sound board. Naruto curled his brows in confusion. He squinted his eyes at the professor when Iruka slammed his fingers on the piano.

"You felt that, didn't you?" Iruka asked with a huge smile on his face.

Naruto nodded slowly, slightly terrified of Iruka's excitement. _What is he getting at…? Of course I felt that!  
_

"And if I do this," Iruka started, placing a finger on a keynote, "you can _feel _it, right?"

Naruto tilted his head slightly. When Iruka played the note again and the board vibrated softly, he nodded.

"Naruto! You may think it's a curse, but I've heard that when someone loses a sense, their other senses sort of _amplify. _For example, someone that has lost their ability to see will sometimes _hear_ things better. It's the brain's way of helping you to compensate for your loss."

Naruto lowered his brows and pouted his lip. «Okay…»

"So, you losing your hearing has _intensely_ amplified your sense of _touch_," Iruka stated, throwing his hand in the air. "The second note I played was a higher note!"

Ah…but Naruto already knew that… «Well…I know that, Iruka…I already knew that.» So, what was Iruka getting at?

"You _still_ don't get it?" Iruka asked, dropping his shoulders slightly.

Naruto shook his head.

"Augh!" The professor threw his head back and his hands up and then looked back at Naruto. "Put your hand back on the piano," he said quickly. "There. Put them there. Both hands!"

Naruto did so. Iruka sat at the piano, and with the way Naruto was standing, he couldn't see the keys. He was angled strangely.

"Now look at me. Look at _me_ and not at anything else."

Naruto was genuinely ill at ease. He didn't expect this reaction from Iruka. Iruka was sort taking this a _lot_ differently than he thought he would. He would have at least thought that—

He suddenly felt the piano vibrate under his hands and he looked at the professor intently.

"What did you feel, Naruto?" Iruka asked, seriously. "Vibrations?"

Naruto nodded.

"And if you close your eyes and I play them again…"

Naruto closed his eyes. He waited patiently for the vibration. When he felt the notes vibrating under his hands (_How do I know that it's more than one note…?_), it was like he could see colors bursting before his vision. He opened his eyes and looked at Iruka.

"What did you see, Naruto?"

The blond tapped his finger on the piano and responded simply, «Colors.»

Iruka paused. "Colors," he repeated. My god, this was too good. "How many?" he asked.

«Seven or so.»

The professor gave a knowing drop of his head, as if trying to hide a large grin. "And what did they look like?"

Naruto pinched his thumb and forefingers together and poked at the air. _Like dots._

"Like points? Like dots?" Iruka asked pointedly, and Naruto nodded. "I'm going to play again. I want you to close your eyes again and feel it."

Naruto did as told, closing his eyes and waiting for the vibrations. He felt them again, and then opened his eyes. Weird, he saw those dots in the same exact places. When the professor got off the bench and beckoned him over, Naruto could do nothing but walk over. When he motioned for the blond to sit at the bench, Naruto did as told, looking up at his professor for further instruction.

"I want you to play what you saw, Naruto," Iruka said.

Naruto curved his brows. That was impossible. Seriously, it was ludicrous. Playing what he saw? He shook his head, as if saying that he couldn't do it.

"Do it, Naruto," Iruka ordered, crossing his arms.

Naruto sighed. Maybe if he closed his eyes again, he could imagine those vibrations. He put his right hand on the ledge so he could feel the vibrations. It was strange how he didn't even realize that his fingers were on the keys. His left pinky found a place on the piano, and then his fourth finger. He then placed down his index finger and his thumb. The middle finger was the only finger not pressing down on a key.

But it felt right. The vibrations felt just right, …But not quite perfect. So he pulled his other hand from the ledge, put his left hand on it, and placed his right index finger on a key. That one can't be right, the thought. He moved the finger up and pressed, and he could see that color burst before his vision. His middle finger once again was left wavering above a key but not pressing down. And then he pressed down with his last two fingers. Finding the right notes, he then repeated the notes he'd found with his left and, and pressed simultaneously on all seven notes.

In the end, all but three of his fingers were pressing down on some keys on the piano. When he opened his eyes to stare at the notes he was pressing, he curled his brows and looked up at Iruka.

The professor had his hand over his mouth in deep concentration, eyebrows furled downward. He breathed deeply and then flicked his eyes at Naruto. He dropped his hand, and his other hand wound its way into his hair. "God, Naruto."

«What?» the blond asked.

"_What_? Those are the exact keys I played when you were standing over the piano."

_What? Yeah right! _

"Naruto, your body is like a large—a large _tuner_! You see pitch in color. You naturally have it in you!"

Naruto didn't know how to react.

"Naruto, you have perfect pitch! You have _absolute pitch_!"

_Wha…_

Iruka proceeded to rant to himself. "Oh my god, I can't believe—that makes him so unique! To the music world, he'd be such a great asset! Oh my—I can't believe I'm teaching someone with perfect pitch! Youprobably didn't even know that you have perfect pitch! And as long as he can feel the vibrations, he can really play any instrument that he wants! You can—" he turned to Naruto suddenly, and the blond flinched back.

"You see music in color! You see _pitch_ in color! Oh my _god!_ Your trouble with sight reading wasn't ever the _notes_ you played! It was your timing! Your _timing _is what really held you back! That can be _fixed_! Do you know that you can become a musical _genius?_ Ergh! Scientists would be all _over_ you if they heard about you! When did you first start playing piano?"

«When I was two…»

"And that recital you said that you had! How old were you when you had it?"

Naruto tilted his head again. He was doing that _a lot_. «I think I was six…»

"You were _six?_ **_Six_**_**?**_"

«I barely remember it…»

A recital at _five years old_ is no joke. That's serious. That's insane skill.

Iruka slapped his face. He'd once thought that Naruto's parents—or guardian—whomever!—had held back Naruto's real potential. The truth was that they _realized_ it! They _realized it_ and that was probably why he _stopped having _piano lessons! They probably stopped giving him lessons because they wanted him to find his own niche in music.

That _had_ to be it. It _had _to be.

Or maybe they didn't stop giving him lessons. Maybe the instructor had nothing to _teach _Naruto. Or so he _thought. _

_Agh, this is all so overwhelming! I think I'm going to __**burst! **_Iruka thought as he sat down. "Naruto, we're gonna end here today. I need time to think this over. I'll see you at our next session."

Naruto was floored. What did he do? Damn, he really didn't think that Iruka would react this way! «But we still have another hour.»

"Please, Naruto. Given the current information I've been bombarded with, I really need to _think_ about this. You didn't do anything wrong at all. Don't come in tomorrow. Come Thursday. I have an idea. Just, please," Iruka stated, breathing deeply.

Naruto tightened his lips. «Okay…» he stood up and grabbed his things from the corner, putting his music book in his sack. He waved simply at Iruka and walked out the room, more confused than ever.

**-Silent Sonata-**

When Naruto moseyed into the practice room a couple of days later, he waited for Iruka quietly. It seemed like he troubled his professor easily. But what Iruka had been talking about the other day made Naruto curious. He looked up the term 'perfect pitch' or 'absolute pitch' and found out a lot of interesting things. He just didn't know that he _had_ that!

He _supposed_ it was a good thing…

Iruka walked into the room moments later, grinning hugely. "Naruto, how are you?" he asked.

Naruto nodded.

"I heard that you and Sasuke made up?" he asked, grinning.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. He pulled out his digi-pad and typed, 'He's still a bit of a princess, but things are smoothing out. I'm surprised that you never got mad at me for lying to you.'

Iruka shrugged his shoulder after reading the message. "I thought to myself that if I made a huge deal about it, it might hurt the situation instead of helping it. So I just let you handle the situation like adults." He pulled off his sack and cracked his fingers. "We're going to try something different today, Naruto."

Naruto raised his brows in curiosity. _Something different? _«What?» he asked.

"Something innovative. I want you to just play."

«Just play?»

Iruka nodded. "Yes. Just sit down and play what you feel. Anger, happiness, confusion, hurt, nostalgia. Anything. Just play. Make it up."

Naruto squinted at the professor and sat at the piano. He looked over at Iruka questioningly and the professor urged him to play.

_Okay…_ the blond thought. He shrugged his shoulders. What was he feeling?

Lately, happiness, he supposed. At having so many friends. Irritation, about that stupid dare that Ino made Sasuke do. Anger with himself for having been so drunk that he went through with it.

Frustration from his reaction to Sasuke. Frustration from his reaction to the lights having turned off.

Fear. Despair.

He shivered and turned to Iruka. «Why are you making me do this…?» he asked suddenly.

"Why?" Iruka asked. He hummed to himself. He looked at Naruto pointedly. "Naruto, you have yet to realize that music is your psychological adventure. It's your way of communication. You're not a traditional pianist. You feel music. You're damn talented, and I need to help you bring it out."

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto was so excited about this trip. He hadn't been to a museum in _years_. A lot of his classmates were whining about the trip, but he was thoroughly excited. Of course, there were a lot of things that he was sure would be completely lost to him. Damn his deafness.

Speaking of which, Iruka was doing very interesting things with his piano lessons. Both yesterday and the day before had been very interesting. The professor had told him that he figure that if he could learn to channel his emotions into his playing by the time mid-terms came up, then they would move on to actual lessons again.

So the last two days had just been filled with Naruto playing whatever tune came to mind at that moment.

Shrugging, he just grinned to himself in excitement. Was he really getting good at the piano? Was he really starting to find himself? It made him grin larger.

With a slight turn of his head, his mood turned sour. Why did Sasuke come? It really wasn't necessary for him to come. The raven had given some lame excuse that he'd never been to the museum before, so he might as well go. Please. Sasuke had the class already, didn't he?

Geez, this train was so crowded. Why was it that everyone was taking the train today? He was standing because there weren't any empty seats! He'd been standing for the past hour and a half! The train jolted, and he grabbed onto the handle as it stopped. His eyes widened when the doors opened and a mass of humans stumbled on the train. _Gah, there's barely any space in the first place!_ he thought, wincing when someone pushed into him.

Sasuke stood up from his seat suddenly, and Naruto watched him. The raven let an old, stooping woman sit at his seat. His demeanor completely changed at seeing her shuffle in. He got right up and helped her sit. She thanked him, patting his hand, and he quickly moved away afterwards as more people piled in, standing in front of Naruto.

The blond pouted, wishing he could lean further away—possibly melt into the wall—so that he could be _that_ much farther from Sasuke. _This is like a girly manga_, the blond thought with thinned, suspicious eyes as he plastered himself against the wall. _The next thing I know, he's gonna—_the trained jerked unexpectedly and took off, and _everyone_ was caught in the momentum.

This included Sasuke, who took a step forward to keep his balance. Of course, things were never this easy, because there was the whole domino effect where someone behind him _did _lose his balance and instinctively reached his arms forward to brace himself. The man pushed Sasuke, who was propelled forward, and plastered his hands on the wall unceremoniously so that he could keep his balance.

But he and Naruto became reacquainted at that very moment. Face to face, eye to eye, and…

_Lip locked_…

It wasn't like in the manga, though. It was a painful, forehead-bumping, teeth-clacking, lip-cutting kiss.

Naruto quickly pushed Sasuke away and, as if it'd been the dirtiest thing, he wiped his mouth and turned slightly so that this didn't happen again. He wasn't drunk this time, and he certainly wasn't compliant this time.

The rest of the train ride was spent with Naruto glaring angrily at nothing in particular, and Sasuke, with his hands still plastered on either side of Naruto, rolling his eyes. It was a _damn accident_! Could the blond be more immature about it?

Of course he could, because as the train stopped at their stop, Naruto pushed past Sasuke as quickly as he could and ran into the bus waiting at the bus pick-up, sitting next to someone he obviously didn't know even though the bus was barely full.

The raven shook his head at Naruto as soon as he got in the bus and saw him sitting next to a slightly unhappy woman, and sat down at the front of the bus by himself. When they arrived at the museum about fifteen minutes later, Naruto stretched and sat at the stairs, waving when he saw Neji and Hinata arrive soon after.

Sasuke stood a few feet away, ignoring some of Naruto's female classmates as they crowded around him in excitement.

By the time the tour started at 11, Sasuke was sure that he was going to rip someone's head off.

The female tour guide greeted them all when they got inside the museum with a large smile. "Hello, and welcome to the National Museum of Art in Osaka! I understand that you are a music class, so we will be taking a tour of the music wings, for which our museum is renowned!

Before we start the tour, I would like to apologize ahead of time. We seem to be having an electrical problem from time to time that we thought had been fixed by our technicians during the week. Unfortunately, since the tours were booked for the weekend, we were unable to close the museum for maintenance purposes. The problems aren't severe, but may be noticeable. Please be patient with us if the electricity goes out.

Why don't we begin with the tour?"

**.o.**

Why the hell would they put all the bathrooms on _one floor_? That was just a little ridiculous. This museum had four floors, and after spending two hours walking, there was no way that Naruto was going to walk up those flights of stairs just to use the bathroom. His bladder would burst and he would leave a mess on the stairwell! And Ibiki was just a totalitarian! Just for _safety precautions_, none of the students could go off alone. So Sasuke reluctantly went with Naruto.

Damn Neji and his snarky comment: _"I'm sure the two of you would just __**love**__ to spend some time together," the long haired raven grinned as shrugged a shoulder. "Besides, Hinata wanted to check out the art wing, so I'm going with her."_

Sasuke bared his teeth in anger just _thinking_ about his upperclassmen. When the elevator door opened and he and Naruto stepped in, the both of them simultaneously separated to either side of the elevator, watching as the machine went from the fourth floor to the third floor.

And then the elevator stopped abruptly.

Naruto looked at Sasuke strangely and made a slicing motion with his hand, hitting his open palm.

"It stopped," Sasuke said, reaching forward to press the emergency button. Nothing. He dropped his head back in disbelief. "We're stuck."

Naruto sighed and threw up his hands. Then he reached over and pressed the emergency call button. If not seconds later, the phone rang and Sasuke picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, yes! We apologize, but we just experienced an electrical malfunction. Please be patient with us."

"How long are we gonna be stuck in here?" Sasuke asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The woman on the other line paused, as if to ask someone by her the question. She began a moment later, "The maintenance may last up to an hour, but should not extend beyond that. We truly apologize. In the course of the maintenance, the lights may shut off so as to not cause over heating. If there are any pro—"

Sasuke looked at the phone. Damn, it just died. And did she say that the lights might turn off? He glanced at the blond and hung up the phone, heaving a large sigh. Naruto patted him quickly and raised his brows in curiosity. "Electrical problems," he mumbled. "An hour."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

Sasuke shook his head in irritation. At least it wasn't any worse. At least he wasn't stuck with someone who would try to bide the time by talking. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. No connection. Damn, really. He looked over at Naruto and shook his cell phone in the air, and the blond, understanding what he meant, pulled out his cell phone and checked if he had service.

Naruto pouted and made a slicing motion at his neck.

«Agh, so annoying…» the blond signed, sitting down.

A few minutes later, by the time they'd both sat at either end of the elevator floor, the elevator groaned and dropped slightly, causing both of them to sit upright, looking up at the ceiling as the light flickered.

Naruto bit his lip in anxiety. _Please don't go out…_

The elevator groaned again and made another drop.

"Fuck!" Sasuke yelled out.

Then the light shut off, leaving them engulfed in complete darkness.

The sound that ensued made the raven literally shiver. And he _knew_ it was Naruto. The blond let out a distressful whine, his hand immediately clasping at the wall as he shifted.

Everyone had skeletons in their closet, and Naruto's was becoming more apparent. Sasuke didn't expect to feel Naruto's hand slap onto his chest, but when it did, he unthinkingly pushed the hand away.

Naruto moaned again, his voice cracking, before he clasped his hand around Sasuke's pant.

What the hell was wrong with him? Sasuke t'sked in annoyance but then two things registered in his mind. First was that Naruto was making sounds and motions akin to panic, and second was that he'd nearly reacted the same way the night of the party.

This was _not_ vertigo.

_Well shit…_

This also wasn't just a childish fear of the absence of light. This was a deeply embedded reminder of what the dark _represented, _of its potential. The blond was terrified witless, letting all barriers completely slip. Something had happened. And if there was one thing that Sasuke understood, it was the fact that some things were too traumatizing to let go of.

The raven pulled out his cell phone again and flipped it open to provide even a _little_ light. By the time he directed the light on Naruto, the blonde's s hands were thrown over his head and he was huddled into the corner, and he didn't move.

Just the same as the party.

Sasuke swallowed, unsure of his next move, but reached his hand out and touched the blonde's shoulder. Naruto flinched. He violently wrenched Naruto's hand away, and the lights suddenly flickered on again.

In the moment that their eyes connected, Sasuke saw that same expression that he'd seen on the blond after they'd kissed at the party. It was there, unhidden, pure, and raw. That same lost expression.

He didn't see that confidence. He didn't see that damn smile. And for some reason, he didn't like it.

Sasuke shivered in sudden understanding. Maybe some of what Naruto had said _was_ true about the lights going off. Goosebumps formed on his arms just at the thought of being in complete darkness and not being able to hear a single sound. How the hell would _he_ react? There would be no sense of balance, of direction. Nothing.

Naruto pulled away from Sasuke quickly, humming when the light flickered off again. They certainly didn't flicker off fast enough for Saskuke to see the blonde's eyes turn red.

The raven inadvertently moved closer to Naruto when he heard him go silent. He didn't even know what possessed him to do it. Besides, he was human, too. Even though they were buried deep, the raven had emotions.

Still, Sasuke was never an instigator. He wasn't the type of person to take the first step in anything. He wanted people to mind their own business and definitely stay out of his. He didn't care for people's matters.

He really wasn't the type to give people things, least of all comfort.

But when they finally found Sasuke and Naruto an hour later—when they finally pulled open the large metal doors of the elevator and light streamed in like a beacon—no one ever expected to find what they saw.

No one expected to see Uchiha Sasuke—school's proudest, school's most aloof, school's untouchable—allowing Naruto to use his shoulder.

Within the hour, Naruto's fear made him succumb to the only outlet that could free him from his panic—sleep. With his back against the elevator wall, he rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder, and Sasuke rested his chin atop Naruto's head.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

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(1) National Museum of Art in Osaka – It's a real museum, but I don't know if it has a music wing and how many floors and stuff it has. I just used it to use it. Please bear with me.

**Comment**: So, I wanted to tell you guys…that if you notice that there are some elements in here that you have seen before in a _drama_ or something, don't be surprised. This fic is actually like a conglomeration of a lot of my favourite dramas in one mass Naruto!World.


	13. Part II: Tranquillo

**Comment**: This story is going to get very serious at this point. This is a bit of a weighty chapter, and it is short. Please be aware, there is cursing.

* * *

**.**

**.o.  
**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Tranquillo**

**.o.**

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**

Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke sat near each other on the train heading back to Tokyo. Naruto, with one leg curled under the other, stared out the window quietly, pensively. He never looked to them as vulnerable as he did now. And it was unsettling—for _all _of them to see. Hinata, as soft spoken and mild-tempered as she was, felt afraid to talk to him, to touch him. Even to breathe on him might make him shatter.

It was a terrible sight. Even worse, his defenselessness, his candidness, this ability to cause more damage, to do _something _that would make him crack, made all of them hurt in a way. It made them ache. It made them want to cease to exist, if that would make Naruto better.

In fact, he _wanted_ them to cease to exist.

No; that would be too cruel. _He_ wanted to disappear. He wanted to forget, too. He wanted to stay on this train and go wherever it went. He needed the momentum, because if it stopped, then the world would come back to him, the reality. He couldn't believe he'd reacted so strongly. He couldn't believe that he let that slip. And in front of—

God, in front of Sasuke. _Sasuke_, of all people. Sasuke, whom he could feel constant condescendence from. How much _more_ disgusted the raven would be with him. Disgusted. He was disgusted with himself.

It wasn't like he'd let this happen in front of Kiba or Jiraiya—people who could understand. People who knew.

_It's fucking Sasuke_! He could barely even stand to breathe around the raven sometimes in fear of receiving some derisive, verbal lashing, if _that_ at all. So this was an insult to him—to his pride and to the psyche that he'd built up these past few years.

The announcement was made over the intercom that the next stop was theirs, and Naruto eased his sore leg to the floor, wincing from the needle-like pains that coursed up his leg and made his knees burn and ache. All the while, he didn't look at either of his schoolmates.

How could he?

He would see pity from Hinata. He would see concern from Neji. And what of Sasuke? Would he see contempt, better than pity, yes, but still a negative, from Sasuke?

He didn't need any of that.

The train came to a jerking halt a few seconds later. The doors slid open, and Naruto slipped out without so much as a glance at his friends. He walked over to the destined pick-up area, prepared to take a bus home. Instead, Kiba was waiting for him with his hands in his pockets, wild brunet hair kicking about in the wind. Naruto was surprised to see his roommate waiting there, but chalked up his presence to either Hinata or Neji.

Kiba had gotten a call from Neji—of all people—and was informed of _everything_ that'd transpired. Thankfully, from what he was told, discretion was used, and the only ones to find Sasuke and Naruto had been Neji, Hinata, Naruto's professor, as well as the maintenance workers. His initial reaction was rage at the lack of proper upkeep of the building, which dissolved into helplessness and worthlessness for not having been there for Naruto.

As he saw Naruto walking to him, sparing him a glance of acknowledgement, Kiba couldn't help but think that Naruto was so _quiet_, in every sense of the word. Emotionless. Troubled, downcast eyes. It was just the complete opposite of _today's_ Naruto. His anger melted so quickly, and he could barely raise a hand to wave at Naruto. "Naru..." When Naruto passed him without so much as a raise of his head (not using his eyes—Naruto's eyes could tell him so much, and the blond _knew_ it, so he had to defend what scrap of honor he had left) and sat inside of the taxi at the waiting area, Kiba withered.

This was too much like what had happened to Naruto years ago. It'd been terrible.

Kiba forced a smile when he saw Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke (the latter nonchalant) walking toward him. He grinned and waved at them. "Thanks for, uh, for the call, man," he said good-naturedly to Neji, giving the older one a slight nudge in the arm.

"Is N-Naruto going to b-be…?" Hinata started suddenly.

Kiba smiled so gently at her that it seemed he was a different person then, and leaned against the taxi cab. He looked up slightly, as if trying to hide something from them, then distractedly glanced at a sign. He sighed, ruffling his hair. "Hh…I don't really know right now," he said honestly and shrugged. He turned to Sasuke, who shuffled as if to get his attention. Clearing his throat, he stared straight at the raven, setting his lips into a thin, grim line.

Kiba didn't like Sasuke. He hadn't liked Sasuke when they'd first. At the party, he _still_ didn't like Sasuke. To Kiba, Sasuke was an obstacle to Naruto's, a person grabbing a chrysalis and refusing to let the insect inside get out. But…but if he hadn't been there in the elevator with Naruto—if Naruto had been alone, things could have been immeasurably worse.

He was sure that Sasuke's presence wasn't the only thing that kept Naruto from reacting far worse, and, being uninformed completely about what happened in the elevator, he was sure that Sasuke had shed some pride and acted like a human. He'd seen Sasuke act like a human before when he'd helped Naruto that night with his form on the piano.

Kiba groaned internally at the implications of what could have been if it hadn't been for Sasuke. Therefore, he started, "Sasuke…" He paused, clenching his jaw for a moment, as if the next words were truly difficult to say. "Thanks. As in, like, seriously."

Sasuke shook his head slightly, trying to keep a disapproving frown at bay as he tightened his fists. "I need to talk to you." So abrupt. So much malice.

But Kiba seemed to understand.

"We need to get going," Neji suddenly professed as a limo pulled up beside the taxi. "We, ah, drove over to Osaka, but took the train back to—you know—make sure that Naruto—that things we okay." Hinata nodded after her cousin's statement.

Kiba smiled genuinely at the two. "I'm super jealous, you know. Naruto seems to have a lot more friends here than the bastards we grew up with. You guys spend more time with him than _I_ do…"

Neji shrugged his shoulders, glancing at his limo driver. "Alright, see you two around," he said with finality.

"Goodbye, K-Kiba," Hinata said softly. She glanced at Naruto in the cab, then glanced at Kiba again. Without saying anything, she gave the brunet a warming smile and waved at him. When she and Neji were in the car and it drove off, Kiba turned to Sasuke.

Kibaraised his brows at the raven. "Talk about what?" he asked.

"Privacy would be preferable." Sasuke said, eyes flicking to the blond still sitting in the cab.

Kiba sighed and then gave a single nod. "Okay." He turned and bent toward the driver's window, knocking on it. The man rolled down the window and he told him to bring Naruto to their apartment address, giving him more than enough compensation. He then turned to Naruto, who turned to him quickly.

«Kiba, no!»

«He just wants to talk, Naruto,» Kiba replied quietly.

«Don't! He's a bastard! He has no right!» Naruto responded, unbuckling his belt.

«But today, he wasn't!» Kiba reasoned, making Naruto, whose hand was on the door handle, halt.

Kiba quickly pulled back and told the driver to go. Naruto grabbed at the head rest in front of him and turned to Kiba as the car inched away. He glared darkly at the brunet. He would probably not talk to him for the next day or two, understandably. Shaking his head, Kiba faced Sasuke again, not having the desire to really be alone with the raven.

If there was one thing Kiba knew about himself, he had the tendency to reveal things to people more than the situation necessitated. He had a feeling he would do that very thing.

"So what do you want to talk about?" he finally asked.

"Innocence really doesn't befit you, Kiba," the raven replied, thinning his eyes. "You know what."

"I'm not gonna tell you shit, Uchiha. I won't tell you things that you don't need to know."

So he thought that Sasuke was going to confront him about the elevator incident? As curious as he was about that, he wouldn't pry into something that was obviously none of his business. He was opinionated, but he was no busy-body. Not openly, at least.

Still, he would choose his words wisely. Kiba would reveal what he wanted to hear if he played his cards right. "Why doesn't Naruto consider speech therapy?"

Kiba was slightly taken aback, not prepared to talk about _this_. Wasn't this the subject of their conversation at one point, though? They were back to _this_? How immature. "Ah, back to _this_ conversa—"

"_Yes_, back to it," Sasuke hissed. "I know he's not mute. I _know_ what I heard at the party, and I know what I heard when I fucking _pushed _him out of the way of that damn car. And there certainly wasn't anyone else on the elevator! It sure as hell wasn't _me_ voicing any distress."

"Listen, Sasuke. First of all, why are you concerning yourself over this? It's rather childish. Secondly, not everything in the world is _perfect—"_

"I know that, _damn it!"_ Sasuke roared. "But does he know how _difficult_ he makes it for himself and people? Let alone he's deaf. But deaf _and_ mute? His muteness is obviously self-imposed. He's a _music _major!"

"Yeah, I know that!" Kiba retorted.

"And there are things that music majors have to do, no matter what division they're in. For example, required choir course! So what is he going to do?" the Uchiha reasoned. "Feed people some words that will make them pity him? Try to weasel his way out?"

Kiba clenched his jaws. Really, why would Sasuke be concerning himself about this? It wasn't really any of his business. When the time came, he, Naruto, and Jiraiya would figure this out. For now, they couldn't force anything of him, and they wouldn't.

But sometimes he wondered, 'Did we try enough?'

"In the real world," Sasuke murmured, continuing, "just because someone has a damn handicap doesn't mean people are going to feel bad for him and let him slip by. Some people are animals. Some people search out for people like Naruto so that they can take advantage of them."

Distinctly, Sasuke could remember his brother describing the current case he was working on. The victims were both disabled. Someone had sought them out.

"There are just some things that you wouldn't ever understand, _Sasuke_," Kiba groused.

Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, some things that people won't under-fucking-stand. He refuses to speak, has irrational fears of the dark that he claims is vertigo? Please, don't insult my intelligence. Babying someone through their life is a crime against that person and the people around them! _Why_ do you think I was so against 'helping' Naruto?"

In his rage, Kiba exploded. "You think it's easy?" he growled, taking a step toward Sasuke. "I haven't _fucking_ talked to Naruto for _three fucking years_! You think things are fucking simple? And don't even _go there_ with his 'irrational fear of the dark' shit! You're not Freud! _Fuck_ you and your _fucking_ perfect world where you _shit_ and people line up to smell it. What did _you _have to fight for? _Fucking _silver-spooned _asshole_! You don't even know!"

For a moment in Kiba's tirade, Sasuke had basked in masked glory at pulling out of Kiba what would have probably not been revealed in any civil conversation. Kiba's anger was his downfall, no doubt.

But when he called into play the 'luxury' of _Sasuke's _life, he struck a chord within the raven that had been long untouched.

Sasuke reached his hand out and grabbed the brunet by his collar, pulling him forward. "Talk about what you _know_, Kiba. Naruto's not the only one who's had _shit _thrown into his life," he hissed, pushing the raven away. "Forget what I even _suggested_. _You_'re his friend; you're with him at school, and you're with him at work. You know exactly what you're talking about," he said sarcastically. "Never mind the world."

Kiba, realizing that the raven was mocking him, bit back, "Yeah, I know what I'm talking about, _bitch_. I've only known him for almost twenty years."

Sasuke glared at the brunet, and gave a rather unexpected response. "Touche."

"I fucking _know_," Kiba hissed, shoving a hand in his hair and his other in his pocket as he scratched viciously at his scalp. He breathed out heavily through his nose, glancing at the raven. "Are we done yet?" he blurted. "I'm talking to you more than I've talked to you before, and I'm not liking it!"

Sasuke shrugged, rolling his eyes.

Kiba sighed again. "For all it's worth…" he started. He turned away slightly and pouted out a 'Thanks again.'

Sasuke shrugged again.

And literally, just like _that_, no further comments and not even a look at each other, no bidding goodbye, they split ways.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto hadn't talked to Kiba in the past day and a half. No matter what the brunet did, Naruto completely ignored him. It was actually a lot easier to do that than he thought. But avoiding people at school today had been a bit of a task. Hinata, as usual, had expressed her concern. Naruto had simply told her not to worry about it. But Ino and Sakura, who'd only _heard_ about it, were more adamant about pulling the truth out of Naruto.

They _knew_ it wasn't just 'vertigo'.

So they'd turned to Sasuke, who was quietly eating on the side, minding his own business, internalizing everything, and asked him what happened.

Because they knew that _he_ _was with Naruto the whole time_.

_Damn it, he'll never let me live it down…_ Naruto thought, tying the strings of his apron and heading for the kitchen. He waved when Nishi and Matsu waved their cooking tools at him, then started emptying the garbage receptacles. He sighed, thinking back on yesterday again.

He'd given Sasuke what he was sure of was a pleading look when the raven had glanced at him.

He was still surprised that Sasuke had even acquiesced to the silent request. Instead of answering Sakura and Ino's questions they way they _wanted_, the raven had replied with a "Nothing. If he doesn't want to tell you, it's not my right to tell." _Really, Sasuke? Standing up for me?_ _I'm going to have to honestly thank him_, the blond thought as he kicked at the back exit door leading to the dump bins.

Which led Naruto to wonder, anyway…just _why_ Sasuke covered for him. And why Sasuke had done that in the elevator. The guy was a selfish prick. Those kinds of people don't just change their ways on a whim. And the people Naruto trusted least were those types.

He threw in a couple of bags and turned about, jumping back in shock at seeing a male standing where he hadn't seen him before. He recognized him, too.

Mizugi or something like that. Shikamaru had told him that the bleached blond was trouble. He really didn't need the brunet around to have told him that, though, because he'd surmised that himself. If that was the case, he would head inside _stat_. He gave Mizuki a friendly wave but walked toward the kitchen.

"Hey wait!" Mizuki started, raising a hand to halt Naruto. "I wanted to talk to you!"

Naruto froze, raising his brows. _Talk to me?_ He thought, pointing at himself. He plastered a face of long-suffering and then tapped his wrist, as if tapping an imaginary watch to tell Mizuki to make it quick.

"Shit! You're really deaf…!" Mizuki murmured rudely, throwing a hand to his crown and another to his pocket as he weaved his fingers in his nearly-white hair.

Naruto rolled his eyes. _No, I was faking it_.

"So, but, you can, like, read my lips or some shit like that?" Mizuki asked, rubbing his neck from uneasiness. Naruto waved his hand in a so-so manner, getting impatient with Mizuki, which the other could sense. "Dude, I'm just gonna get to the nitty. Are you the kind of deaf person that, you know, talks?"

The abrupt question floored Naruto, and he furrowed his brows, offended tremendously. Really, Mizuki wasn't sensitive about the subject at all! That wasn't even any of his business!

"Okay, okay," Mizuki started, holding his hands up in defense. "Innocent question, man; no offense!"

Naruto thinned his eyes at the other, wondering what was on the male's agenda.

"Alright, listen, dude. We seriously need someone like you."

Naruto gave Mizuki a dubious look and thinned his eyes. _For what? _He wondered in agitation. _And who is 'we'?_

"It's privileged info, you know?" Mizuki continued. "I can't give you all the details, but you must be looking to make yourself some money if you're working here, right?"

Naruto tilted his head in response.

"I can help you with that, but I would need _your _help first."

Naruto shook his head, thinning his eyes and giving Mizuki a down-turned as he began to walk past him.

"Dude, you don't understand!" Mizuki halted him, pressing his hand against the blonde's chest. "What you make here is shit wages. But trust me, I can—"

"What is going on here?"

Chouza stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

Mizuki turned around and held up his hands when Naruto knocked the hand on his chest away, taking an innocent step back. "Nothin! I was just having a chat with _Naruto_!"

Naruto turned to Chouza, feeling as if he'd done something wrong, and shook his head rigorously.

Chouza eyed Mizuki suspiciously, then gave Naruto a strange glance. "The next time I see you around here, I'm going to call the cops!"

Mizuki rolled his eyes and threw his hand at Chouza in dismissal. He stuffed his hands in his pocket after giving Naruto a brief, friendly wave (in which Naruto dropped his jaw and stared at him incredulously), and turned away. He grinned when hearing the man discipline Naruto.

"Don't talk to that bad seed! Next time he comes around, _don't linger around with him!_"

He then heard the door close, but still, his grin widened. "_Bitch_," he grinned, rounding the corner. He saw it in Chouza's eyes, the suspicion, and that was all he needed to get things rolling in his favor.

"So, what exactly do—"

"_Shit_!" Mizuki screeched, jumping around and facing a large, tall, and muscled man. "Juugo, you _prick!_ I've told you before! Don't just sneak up on me like that!"

Juugo rolled his eyes and murmured, "Don't be so easily scared…" Mizuki clicked his tongue in annoyance and started walking again. Juugo caught up to him in three large strides and started, "So what exactly do we need that blond kid for?" he asked quietly. He was the mild-tempered type.

"Juugo, you're new to this kind of stuff, ain't you?" Mizuki asked.

Juugo blinked at him, raising his brows in question.

"That kid is our ticket. I've already told the boss about this, and he's already moving."

"Ah," Juugo answered. There was obviously something that Mizuki could see that he couldn't. "How so?" he asked.

Mizuki grinned, clouting Juugo light-heartedly on the back, holding his head up in triumph. "Doubt and trust go hand in hand, my friend. They can be your greatest weapons."

All he did was plant the seed. All that was needed now was a little more time.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto sighed when he got inside his apartment. Ever present on his mind for the rest of the day was what happened at work earlier! It was like that Mizuki guy had been _waiting_ for him to get outside. He'd have to watch out for him. Chouza had been so upset for the rest of the night. Not with _him_ per se, but just with the situation. But what had really gotten to Naruto was what Chouza had said to him later on that evening.

"_I'm honestly hoping that you don't have anything to do with Mizuki, Naruto. At this point, I'm starting to see you as a liability. You came in the day he left."_

_Well excuse me!_ Did Chouza trust Naruto so little? _And pardon me!_ Was Chouza implicating him in some way?

As he walked to the couch, the bathroom door opened and Kiba stepped out, shirtless and with a towel hanging around his shoulders. The brunet waved at him uneasily, and he returned the wave with a dirty look.

Kiba rolled his eyes and walked into the bedroom. When he walked back out again, he was wearing a t-shirt and the towel was gone. He walked toward the blond.

Naruto belatedly realized that Akamaru was gone perhaps in the kennel outside. Damn, that was a bad sign. Kiba would often put the fox away in times past when he knew that tempers were going to flare up. So this meant that he and Kiba were going to duke it out. Before he even knew what happened, Kiba had clouted him on the head with an open palm.

Naruto looked at him with a dazed expression, cradling his cranium. «What the fuck was that for?» he asked Kiba.

"'That's for being an _asshole!'"_ Kiba shouted.

«That's because you're a terrible friend!» Naruto retorted.

"Oh fuck that!" Kiba spat. "'Terrible friend' my _ass! _I've been your _best friend_ for over ten years! Stop getting your panty in a bind!"

Naruto thinned his eyes at Kiba and crossed his arms, turning away. 

Kiba dropped his head back and raised his hands heavenward. "My _God! _You can be _such a baby!_" He yelled at the blonde even though Naruto wasn't facing him. He growled angrily and then picked up the empty coaster on the coffee table, chucking it at Naruto.

Naruto whipped around quickly, seeing the source of his current pain, and then looked up at Kiba. He stood up angrily and said, «Why are you _abusing me? _First you confide in _Sasuke_, now you're abusing me?»

"Oh shut up, Naruto! I'm not abusing you! You're acting like a fucking kindergartener! _I didn't tell Sasuke anything!_"

Naruto suddenly pouted, cocking his head to the side. «Really…?» he asked.

Kiba shook his head in annoyance. "'Yes, really!'" he mocked.

«Then why didn't you _say _so before?» Naruto asked angrily.

"That would _probably be _because you didn't even let me _talk _to you!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly, rubbing his neck. «Haha, my bad…» Kiba clouted him on the head again. He only ducked away. Then he plopped very weightily on the couch. «Then what did you two talk about?» he asked suspiciously.

Kiba rolled his eyes. My god, Naruto's moods changed like some indecisive _woman!_ "'If you really want to know, he was suggesting to me that you get speech therapy.'"

Naruto reared his head back in shock. _Sasuke? Suggesting I get speech therapy?_ That was…not what he had expected. He quirked his lip at Kiba in slight annoyance at Sasuke.

"'He already knows you're not mute, Naruto. I mean, in your defense I totally backed you up, but don't you think it's time to…'"

Naruto lowered his brows at Kiba. «It's not time to do _anything._ I'm not _talking! _To _anyone! _Ever_!_»

"'Naruto, you know that's not being reasonable. It's been three years now. Move on!"

The air in the room got so cold, and goose bumps formed over Naruto's arms. He gave Kiba a chilling, empty look. It wasn't something that he could just _forget_. He knew that Kiba wasn't asking him to forget. But he was—

It hurt to hear Kiba talk this way so selfishly. Yes, Kiba knew what happened, so to hear him talk like this...

It wasn't an easy subject.

And involuntarily, Naruto brought his leg up on the couch and, not even looking at Kiba, he said, «I'll talk when I'm ready.»

He knew it was irrational for him to think this way. There would definitely be times when…when he would have to talk. If there was an emergency—if he was the only deaf person—if something were to go wrong, he would _have _to talk.

But he _wasn't_ _ready_.

He saw Kiba wave a hand at him from the corner of his eye, and turning to the brunet, he watched.

«What if you're _never_ ready?» Kiba asked silently.

Naruto looked away again, as if fascinated by something in the room. «Then I'll never talk…»

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**Comment**: It was a very short chapter, I know, but the next chapter is going to be _long_, and it will _most definitely_ make up for everything. Once again, **this is not a rape fic.**


	14. Part II: Lacrimoso

**Comment**: I know that I emphasized this at the end of the last chapter, but again, _this is **not **a rape fic._ No matter what direction this story takes, please keep that in mind. Now, please endure this chapter. It is long, and it is emotional.

So everyone is up to date with the passage of time in this story, it began in the beginning of April, Golden Week takes place at the end of that month and runs into the beginning of May, they had their party on the Friday of Golden Week, Naruto's trip was the _following _Saturday, and the end of the previous chapter took place on Monday. Therefore, in the span of time since the beginning of this story, it his now **the very middle of May**, a month and a half after the semester has started.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Lacrimoso**

**.o.**

**.  
**

It started with a question that Ino raised at the table. Everyone was eating, but no one initialized any conversation starter. But then, as Ino was chomping away, she saw Naruto drumming his fingers against the tabletop quickly, fingers twisting about.

"Oh, Naruto!" she started excitedly, waving her hand at the blond to get his attention.

He looked up at her with raised brows. «What?» he asked.

"How's piano?" she asked, gesturing a piano with her fingers.

Naruto nodded and grinned at her. «Awesome!»

Ino giggled and then started, "Come on, tell us what's going on! You're a guru and you're going to have, a master recital?"

Sasuke snorted loudly at that.

Sakura turned to the raven and elbowed him, in which he turned to her and glared. "What, do you know something we _don't_?" the strawberry-blonde asked with an attitude.

"From my experience, he's terrible," Sasuke said, looking squarely at the blond.

Naruto turned red and puffed his cheeks at the raven. «I have you know that while I'm not a master, I'm not _that _bad either!» he started, which Sakura translated. «Anyway!» He tilted his head slightly and finished, «Professor Irukaand I have been experimenting a lot lately!»

Neji piqued his brows in sudden interest. "Why?" he asked. He wasn't a pianist, but knew that the first semester of the music major was half of the time about experimentation. Usually, within the first month or so, the professor was really able to isolate the instrumentalist's talent and would adapt the lessons to bring it out. "What's he found out?"

Naruto pursed his lips in thought. «Well, at first I didn't know what it was, so I had to research it. I'd never heard of it before, so I didn't know if it was a good thing or not. Apparently I have perfect pitch.»

Sakura translated it, then shrugged her shoulders. People usually not musically inclined, like herself, were not really familiar with the term.

Sasuke coughed when food caught in his throat after hearing Sakura repeat. And then he hissed out a "What?" Sasuke straightened his lips from his outburst, closing his eyes for a second out of annoyance. He turned back to Naruto and said, "You didn't know what that was?"

Neji suddenly stuck his hand out at Naruto and the blond inched a way in confusion. He then took Naruto's hand and shook it in confusion. "Brethren," Neji said solemnly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Why? What's perfect pitch?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, th-that's when you c-can…Nn…" Hinata paused a second so she could think of how to word the meaning so that Sakura and Ino could understand. "You c-can identify varying pi-pitches or sounds without, um, w-without using a reference."

Ino swiped her hand over her head. "Totally went over my head, hon. Translate, please?"

Hinata smiled. "I-In other words, a person with p-perfect pitch c-can hear a note and kn..." she began to stumble over the syllable, so she changed the word, "identify exactly which note it is."

Neji intervened. "They'll know when a note is an 'E' or a 'B Flat' automatically, or after a second of thought." He sat back for a second to think of a comparison that the two girls would understand. "It's like…when you look at a painting and you see a color and you're like, 'Oh, that's cadmium yellow medium' or something without even thinking about it."

"Ooh!" Sakura and Ino drawled out, kicking their heads back in understanding. The pink-haired girl turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you have perfect pitch, don't you?" she asked. "And don't you too, Neji?"

Neji nodded. "Yes. That is why I called Naruto my brethren."

Naruto's shoulders drooped and he snapped his finger. «And here I thought I was the only one or something!»

Neji grinned at Naruto. "Well don't be too surprised. I have perfect pitch, but Hinata has _relative _pitch. A lot of students here do. There aren't too many with perfect pitch, though. But if you were to go to Julliard or something, a larger percentage of the students have it."

Hinata nodded and clarified, "Relative p-pitch is wh—is when you need a reference note before you c-can know what note you're hearing."

Ino nodded. "Well either way, that must be awesome!" she started, turning to Naruto, utterly curious. "But…_how…_?" she asked.

Naruto blinked at her. «'How' what?»

"I mean…how do you have that? Perfect pitch" Ino reiterated. "Don't take this the wrong way, but since you're…»

Naruto stopped her, point to his ear. «My deafness?» he asked.

"Yeah!" she urged.

"True, true," Sakura mumbled, suddenly more interested. She glanced at Sasuke and bit her lip to hide her grin. The raven was silent, eating his food with jabbing, murderous motions. She knew him enough to know what he was feeling at the moment.

He was feeling threatened. When Sasuke felt threatened, he got competitive. And because he loved to win, he loved competition.

However, Sasuke's downfall was that in his desire to beat out competition, he sometimes became obsessive and acted somewhat irrationally.

Sakura nudged him, and when he glared at her, she rolled her eyes and mouthed, 'Calm down!' Turning back to Naruto, she began, "'So, Hinata said that when a person with perfect pitch _hears _a note, they can identify it. But since you can't hear, how does that, you know, work for _you_?"

Neji nodded, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms. "I _am_ rather curious…"

Naruto grinned. This was, oh, this was great! He'd never really met people so interested in his deafness before. People in his old town mostly shunned him, didn't care to ask about or show any interest in becoming familiar with his disability. But these guys—these _friends_, whom he knew for less than two months—they were embracing it, diving headfirst into Naruto's world. Knowing that he had these few people supporting him, getting to know _him_, made him feel awash with a sense of confidence.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, waving her hand at the blond, who'd blanked out for a few seconds.

Naruto snapped back to attention and answered, «Right. Well, I'm very sensitive to touch,» emphasizing the words by wriggling his fingers.

"_Oh…_!" Hinata gasped in amazement after Sakura repeated the statement.

"How so?" Ino asked.

Naruto thinned his lips in concentration. «Well, I'm not one hundred percent sure about this. I mean, I'm just starting to really discover this about myself. Remember back at the party, how I kept my hand on the amp for a while, and how the bass was kind of high? Actually that was a _subwoofer_.»

After Sakura translated the statement, Ino gave a drawling, 'Okay…?'

«Well it's transfers a low of lower frequencies, and I used it to feel the bass. I can _feel_ sounds. Like vibrations. And each pitch feels different. I don't know, to me they're placed as specific dotted colors in my mind. I was using my hands and my feet to feel the vibrations at the party. And when I was standing near the amp, I could feel the air pulsing from it.» He demonstrated, splaying his hands apart a few inches from the sides his face and waving them closer to and farther from his face a few times.

Neji sat forward slightly, extending a hand to gesture. "So, in other words, you visually isolate the vibrations?" he asked.

Naruto took a while to think about the question, but answered, «Yeah, I think that explains it.»

"You know," Neji started, leaning forward some more, "they say that _Beethoven_ had perfect pitch. He used to cut off the legs of the piano and sit on the floor and play. Or there were times when he fastened a rod to the sound board and he would bite down at the other end of the rod so that he could, ah, understand the sounds better because of the vibrations."

Naruto turned to Sakura and she graciously finished off translating it for him.

Normally, mentioning the famous musician was taboo to Naruto, not that they knew. But hearing that about Beethoven interested Naruto. He responded, «I never heard that before!»

"Well you should start experimenting more with things like that," Neji suggested. "It'll a more enjoyable experience."

"Music through v-vibrations…" Hinata started, placing a hand against her cheek. "That's s-so beautiful," she murmured, more to herself than for anyone to hear. She looked up at Naruto. "Do you…do you think that you c-can play an-another instrument?" she asked.

Naruto looked up in thought, tapping at his chin. «I've never really tried before…» he responded.

"Well, piano is different because there are ways that you can feel the vibrations since it so large. But…what about…about smaller instruments. Li—Like a cello or a violin? Have you ever tried? I think you should try."

There was a sudden snap at the other end of the table, and they simultaneously turned to the sound. Naruto, seeing them all look at something, peered as well.

Sasuke dropped his broken chopstick in his bowl, not bothering to look up. He gathered his things up suddenly onto his tray and picked it up, standing up abruptly.

Neji grinned and said smugly, "Something seems to be bothering you, Sasuke." He crossed his arms and he sat back. "Going somewhere?"

Sasuke glared at the raven so openly and then glanced at Naruto, gritting his teeth at seeing those damn blue eyes looking up curiously at him. He bent down awkwardly, reaching down and then pulled up again, slinging his _violia_ case on his shoulder.

"Oh dear," Ino murmured in long-suffering, knowing Sasuke's body language enough to understand what he was thinking.

Sasuke simply answered Neji's question, "Practice."

"Oh Sasuke…" Sakura whispered to herself, shaking her head. Ino nudged her from under the table. She paused, about to say something, but stopped when the blond pinched her. Instead, she said to Sasuke, "Er, enjoy."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her and clicked his tongue, walking away.

Sakura turned to Naruto and simply said so that no one else knew, «Watch your back. He's getting guarded.»

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

**.o.**

Sasuke gritted his teeth and squeezed his viola between his chin and shoulder. Perfect pitch?

That damn blond hadperfect pitch? _That _he really didn't care about so much. He knew that there had to have been a reason why Naruto was so good. But how can one _not know _that he has perfect pitch. He was a professed pianist, for god's sake!

Damn it, Naruto was talented. But—but it was a natural talent. An untrained talent.

Sasuke was so good at what he played because he perspired blood for and dreamt solely of upholding his musical talent. To think that Naruto was wasting all of his talent, and he didn't even _know _about it or have to_ try_! What the hell did he train all these years for?

Damn him!

And Hinata, with that damned suggestion pissed him off, too. For her to even suggest that Naruto undertake another instrument when he had yet to even master the piano? No! And not just _any _instrument! She suggested _his_ type instrument. _His_ instrument.

_He_ played the viola and violin. That was _his _field of expertise! There was no way that Naruto was going to show him up on his own turf. He would _not_ allow it.

People in this must department heard the name Uchiha Sasuke and they automatically associated that name with 'violinist' or 'violist.' And yet, when Naruto transferred to the music wing, he wasn't hearing 'Sasuke, Sasuke.' He was hearing 'Naruto, Naruto'!

Naruto, that deaf kid.

Naruto, that foreigner.

Naruto, that knew pianist!

Naruto, the good and bad pianist!

Naruto, that undisciplined musical genius.

Damn him! All he heard was that _name!_

He would _not _let his name die out. Resolutely, he sat down at his chair and stared at the music sheet of new material that his professor had given him, reading over the first few pages meticulously. He grabbed the neck of his viola and started doing finger placement.

After a few minutes, he put the music sheet away and sat upright, positioning the viola at his jaw and shoulder. Determination set, he glared at the far wall and began to play what he'd memorized.

After all, on top of having perfect pitch, Uchiha Sasuke was also gifted with another talent. He could look at anything—_any thing—_and it would be memorized.

Uchiha Sasuke was blessed—or _cursed _—with an eidetic memory. These are what made him a genius, and he would not be relegated.

**-Silent Sonata-**

When Naruto walked into the practice room, he was greeted with a different sight. Iruka was sitting in the corner waiting for him, obviously. But the piano was _also_ shoved into the corner of the room. Instead, there was an electric grande piano in the center of the room, and it was connected to a large amplifier, which sat in front of the piano instead of a bench.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow and looked at the professor. «What is _this_» he asked.

"'Oh, it's something I thought of for a while,'" Iruka answered, standing from his seat and walking over to Naruto. "You need to familiarize yourself with your gift."

Naruto raised his brows. _Okay…?_

"So, from now on, we're going to use the electric grande," he continued, placing his hand on it. "It's amazing, really. It feels like the real thing, but its extra features are beneficial." He pointed to one of he knobs. "With this, for example, you can adjust the volume."

Naruto pulled out his digi-pad and typed, 'How much? This must have been expensive!'

Iruka blushed. "Eh…it was…quite a penny, but the school president funded it. We've been planning on getting one or two, but with my insistence, we just got it sooner."

Naruto glared at Iruka for not telling him the price. 'It's not even a real piano,' he typed. 'Will it _feel_ the same…?'

Iruka nodded. "It's _very_ close to the real thing. Besides, I think _this_ is going to be better for you. Sit on the amp." He pointed to the large amplifier in front of the pianos.

Naruto furled his brows but did as told, dropping his things to the floor gently. He then sat down, adjusting himself to the hard surface. It wasn't incredibly comfortable, he mused. He jumped slightly when he felt the amplifier vibrating profoundly under him. Looking at his professor, he saw that Iruka had slammed on a few keys, and he glared at the man lightheartedly for the shock.

"You see? Now you can feel the sounds _as _you're playing, instead of having to put your hand on the music ledge!"

Naruto shifted slightly then gave a discreet nod to Iruka, bobbing his shoulders up and down in sudden excitement. He reached forward and pressed down on some keys lightly at first to see how well the amp would pick up on the softer sound. _Oh, I can feel it..._

Iruka suddenly shooed Naruto off the amp and moved it away from in front of the piano. He then got a music bench and pulled it toward the piano, sitting on it. Extending a hand toward the amp, he gave Naruto permission to sit back on it.

_Ooh! Is he going to play for me? _Naruto thought in excitement, wriggling on top of the amp.

Iruka then proceeded to play.

At first, it felt uncomfortable to feel the vibrations this way, from the center of his being, traveling through him. He could feel it in his posterior, his thighs, traveling pleasurably down to his feet and up his spine and in his torso.

Something about this felt…it felt slightly—

Well, there was no other way to explain it or say it. It was very sensual. Not at all sexual, but it was certainly very sensual and intimate.

And when he closed his eyes, he could see the music. He could see the notes playing, the colors splashing through the dark. It was so beautiful. He'd never had the opportunity to appreciate piano like this.

He couldn't find words to describe the sensations coursing through his body. More so than the sensations, though, this was almost as complete as being able to hear the piano. As he listened, he kept seeing some reoccurring positions in front of his closed eyes, so he pressed his fingertips against his things, as if playing the notes. It was a nice and gentle song, but he didn't recognize it. He knew it wasn't classical, but rather of the contemporary style.

Iruka suddenly began playing in higher notes; notes that were _never_ easy for Naruto to feel regularly. But he could feel them! He could _feel_ them.

Oh, he certainly loved this…

**-Silent Sonata-**

Sasuke hated Iruka sometimes. The professor needed him for a mini performance. One of the classes that the professor taught involved close studies of piano duets, and his other pianist had a minor accident, so he would need someone to fill in for him.

The class was tomorrow, so he would have to practice the piece he was meant to play. The only reason he'd agreed to do this last minute was because Iruka offered to pay him quite a penny, and, quote:

"You're the only one I can rely on to have it perfected and memorized by tomorrow!"

A gentle stroke to his ego was ever the perfect impetus. So he agreed. Why the not?

He walked into the practice room and took a step back in slight shock. Since when did the music department get an electric grand? Those were so _expensive_! He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, dropping his things by the piano. He sat at the bench, went to turn the piano on, and quirked his eyebrow upon seeing that it was already on. Some irresponsible dolt left it on. He heaved a sigh and stared at the sheet music for a few minutes, humming it softly to himself.

After ten minutes, when he was sure that he memorized the song, he started to play.

**.o.**

Naruto felt so silly sometimes. He was the obsessive type. If he really liked something, he would use it, listen to it, play it, do anything until he was tired of it. But he was sure he would never tire of this. He'd spent the last couple of days spending all of his free time in this piano room. He was in love with this. His appreciation for music transformed from novice interest to extreme, near clinical compulsion. Every minute aside from lunch and class that he was at school, he liked to come here, to study, or to play.

Yesterday, he discovered _another_ aspect of this particular piano! Technology was so advanced these days. The piano had pre-recorded pieces on it that it could play. The keys literally moved and even the pedals were applied pressure. It was amazing.

Today, he'd spent so much time sitting on the amp while listening to the piano play itself. When he'd gotten tired of sitting but not quite tired of listening, he sat on the floor in front of the amp and rested his head on it. Before he knew it, he'd laid on the floor and curled up in front of the amp, his hand shoved into a pocket that was in front of the device. With this, Naruto escaped the world surrounding him and only focused on the music.

He'd fallen asleep a short white ago listening to the music, but woke up just a few moments ago when he heard a new song playing. He was so sure that the music had stopped playing when he was asleep, but maybe it started back up after a while automatically because he didn't turn it off. He was not going to complain. His eyes remained closed and he listened.

He figured that he still had another half an hour or hour before he had to get ready to go to work, so he would stay here for a little while longer.

He wondered what other types of songs this piano had. Did it have contemporary, or only classical? Either way, what he listened to was a nice melody, no doubt. And he was sure that—as the pitches were placed before his closed eyes—that he'd heard it somewhere before.

A long, _long_ time ago.

Actually, he was positive of it. He knew this. For some reason, he could recall hearing someone play this. The longer he thought about it, the more vivid the memory became, warming him from the inside. Yes, he certainly remembered this piece. Very well, in fact.

It made him think of painting.

He'd been finger painting with his mother while his father was playing this. He remembered the room being warm from the sunlight streaming in. His mother loved natural light, so their little house had as many windows as possible. He remembered his mother putting her hands over his and dipping his fingers into the paint. She said something to him—he couldn't recall what it was at the moment—and they both smeared colors onto the large, thick paper on the floor. In the background, he could distinctly hear his father playing this very melody.

His mother held him tightly and the both of them swung from side to side as she hummed beautifully into his ear, her cheek pressed against his temple.

He could cry thinking about them.

What was this song called?

Naruto sat up quickly to find out the title, then gasped vocally in fright when he saw someone _sitting _at the piano.

Sasuke jolted in the seat he was in and turned slightly to the corner of the room, eyes widening when he saw Naruto, hand slapped over his mouth, crouched in front of an amp that he honestly hadn't realized was there.

He then thinned his eyes at Naruto, dropping his hands to his lap. "What are you doing in here?" he hissed.

Naruto blinked at him owlishly. _I should be asking you!_ He thought, dropping his hand as he shuffled for his digi-pad. He wrote, 'I've been in here all this time!' and then ambled toward Sasuke to show him the message.

Sasuke wove his fingers in his hair and then sighed after reading the message. He looked at the amp and then at Naruto again. Half of the blonde's face was red and marked, like he'd been sleeping. Did he wake Naruto? "You were listening?" he asked. _Of course_ he was!

Naruto blinked and nodded. He then wrote something, showing the screen to Sasuke. 'That piece you were just playing…what's it called?'

Sasuke sighed and turned over the music sheet so that Naruto could see the title.

_Oh…I'll have to remember that… _Naruto thought. And then he wrote, 'If you don't mind, can you play it again?'

Sasuke stared at the screen. He sighed. He wasn't really the type to just let someone listen in on his practice sessions. He actually really hated having people over his back. "I'd rather you _not_," he answered, looking squarely at Naruto.

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. Struck with an idea, he then wrote, 'Well I was in here before you were, and then you came and _woke _me up! Otherwise, you should find _another room_!'

Sasuke gritted his teeth at Naruto. "This room is for practicing, not for _sleeping_," he retorted in annoyance.

Naruto wrote again then turned the screen to Sasuke. 'Then play!' it read.

Sasuke's brow twitched and he growled quietly. He really didn't want to argue with Naruto, and it would be troublesome to use another room. Once he was situated, changing pace threw him off. "Whatever," he spat.

_Hah! Victory! Reverse psychology wins!_ Naruto thought, grinning. He held up a finger, effectively halting Sasuke from playing right away, and then dragged the heavy amp a little closer next to the piano, raising the volume and bass slightly.

The blond then did something that caused the raven to stare at him in fascinated confusion. He kneeled in front of the amp on his knees and, grasping the handles on either side, placed his head atop the device, cheek down to the top surface.

Naruto stilled himself, waiting for Sasuke to start playing. When the raven failed to take that as a cue, Naruto looked up and found the raven staring at him in well-hidden amazement. _Eh! What are you staring at? Play already!_ He thought impatiently, curling his brows at the raven. He jutted a pointed at the piano and plopped his head down again, waiting.

Sasuke blinked at Naruto and then turned to the piano. He shrugged to himself and lifted his hands up, reaching over the piano but not pressing down on any keys. He turned to Naruto again, wondering if the blond would really 'hear' it, and tested it, pressing done on a single note.

Naruto shifted when he heard the note, as if anxious to hear the song again.

The raven turned back to the piano again, not really understanding why he was so…so apprehensive to play. Granted, he'd played in front of Naruto before, but this was slightly different. He wasn't proving anything to Naruto this time.

This was different. Very different.

More…

Personal.

Still, he shook his head unsurely, but began to play anyway. He played carefully. He made sure that he didn't emphasize something that needn't be. And yet, he made sure that none of the notes were too soft to pick up.

He made sure that—

Wait.

Why was he being so careful? So meticulous? Of course, he _knew_ why. Even if he didn't like Naruto, he knew that the blond had appreciation for music that was probably more profound than his. He knew that Naruto really wanted to hear this song. So, maybe he was being so careful so that Naruto could pick up on every note.

If he were deaf, he'd probably want the same to be done to him…

He glanced at Naruto again, letting out a soft chuckle at seeing the blonde's fingers pressing down on the handles along to the beat of the piece, and continued without hindrance.

The song had a gorgeous repetitive melody. And when Sasuke played it again, what he heard shook him.

To.

His.

_Core_.

Maybe it was interference or something that made the amp spike up randomly. Using that as an excuse was a lie in itself though. He knew what he'd heard. He continued playing, fingers slightly shaking, swallowing down something that twisted upwards from his chest and stopped right at the back of his mouth, tickling his tonsils. Whatever it was, it made his throat constrict.

He neared the melody again, and resolutely shifted in his seat, leaning in close to the amp. He played the first couple of notes, and then stopped playing altogether, pulling his fingers away from the keys and lifting his feet off a pedal.

The room should have been left in complete silence, then, right?

But it wasn't.

Because Naruto hummed the next note.

Naruto. _**Hummed**_. The next. Note.

The blond suddenly looked up at Sasuke when hit with the realization of what he did. Eyes wide and heart beating, he tightened his lips and looked away.

Too many times. That was too many times that he'd dropped his guard around Sasuke.

_Once_ was too much.

Sasuke swallowed down again on whatever had come up, staring squarely at Naruto. He then opened his mouth to say something.

Naruto stood up quickly before Sasuke could get out his statement, grabbing his things and heading to the door. Before he could fully open it, a hand grabbed at his wrist, stopping him, and another hand pushed the door shut. He turned around and reared back when he came face to face with Sasuke.

Too close. Sasuke was standing too close.

Not even with a hint of contempt or derision, Sasuke observed, "You can't even hold it in."

Defensively, Naruto shook his head. _You're wrong!_ he thought, eyes still wide.

Leaning forward a fraction more, Sasuke then said something that made Naruto's stomach turn. It wasn't even the question asked. It was the way in which he _knew_ that Sasuke was asking it. Sasuke was searching. He wanted to know. He was purely driven by curiosity, eyebrows raised slightly. "What is it that you're so afraid of?"

Curiosity. It was pure, _unabashed_ curiosity, and very child-like in a sense. The way in which a child has absolutely no shyness about making a statement when he sees something strange or unorthodox, whereas an adult holds his tongue out of decorum, fear. It was the same way a child will not have any reserve about hurting the person with a question because his question isn't meant to hurt or be judgemental but is rather meant to _just know why_.

Sasuke was just so fascinated by Naruto's fear of speech. And Naruto _was _afraid, he could tell. Naruto was _terrified_ of it, and he could see it in those damn blue eyes.

Suddenly, the raven reached his hand up,and wrapped his pale fingers around Naruto's neck, like a child unable to keep his hands to himself. "Why—" Instantly, that anxiety in Naruto's features was washed over by something more dreadful, something that made Naruto's knees weaken, and he let out a small, strange sound, hand grasping for the doorknob behind him desperately. He twisted away from Sasuke and wrenched the door open, exiting the room quickly.

Sasuke stared at his hand and then at the blonde's retreating back.

He understood.

**-Silent Sonata-**

After what happened in that piano room, Naruto and Sasuke could barely established eye contact. Sasuke didn't even show up to Naruto's two classes for the next two days.

He didn't even eat with everyone.

He cut off his ties from them.

Of course, Naruto knew why, but no one else did. No matter, though, because when he saw the raven walking in the hallway—when he would pass Uchiha Sasuke—there was something about the look in his eyes that told him that the pieces in his mind were falling in to place.

So, as Saturday rolled around and he was busy at work, his stomach dropped at seeing Chouza approach him with a heavy-looking delivery box. It wasn't as if he hadn't done deliveries for a while. To the contrary, in fact.

But it was that he knew. He _just knew_ who'd ordered it. He washed his hands in the sink stiffly, innocently, as the boss approached him.

"Naruto! One of our regulars has a delivery!" Chouza said.

Naruto licked his dry lips. He didn't want to do it. He really didn't. He looked at the address and his knees nearly gave out. He couldn't face Sasuke right now. He needed more time to gather his thoughts, to come up with lies.

Shikamaru walked in the kitchen just then and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. He paused when Naruto made no reaction. "'Hey, man, what's up?'" he asked.

Naruto gave him a weak smile and then grabbed the pony-tailed brunette's wrist. «Do you wanna do this delivery for me?» he asked. «I'm so tired!»

And he was. It was nearly time for the restaurant to close. Didn't Chouza think it a bad idea to deliver when it was almost closing-time?

He just didn't want to face Sasuke alone. Shikamaru furled his brows at Naruto and the blond shook his hand. «Please?»

Shikamaru sighed. "'That's definitely a '_No_ can do,' buddy. Why, anyway?'" He grabbed the receipt and looked at it, eyes falling on the last name. Uchiha. Wasn't that _Sasuke's _last name? He snorted. "'What, did you two love-birds fight or something?'"

Naruto gave his lazy friend a punch on the arm before sagging his shoulders, shaking his head. «Never mind,» he answered.

Shikamaru snorted again. "'Good luck, then, mate!'" he said, clapping Naruto on the back.

Naruto sighed, grabbed the delivery box, and left. He placed the heavy box on the bicycle and peddled away. _I'm just being a little unprofessional, _Naruto thought. _And maybe just a little ridiculous. _

After all, a job was a job, and when it came to work, one had to put aside their discrepancies and act civilized, the keyword being _act_. Even if he wasn't up to doing this, he would do it anyway. He would go there, deliver the food, and leave. Quick and easy. So he sighed as he finally reached the tall building. Locking his bike in place and picking up the delivery box, he looked up at the roof and blinked, shaking his fist angrily at the raven even though he wasn't there.

When he got inside the building, he pressed the elevator button. Ah, elevators…

He pouted, stretching his neck to peer at the stairway. He then looked at the elevator again, stepping back when the large metal doors opened. He put his foot in the doorway and watched as the metal doors slid to a close and then stopped a few inches away from his foot, opening up fully again.

To take or not to take? That was the question.

Figuring that he didn't want to risk another elevator incident, he stepped back and walked toward the stairway.

It was obviously an unwise decision. By the time he reached the apartment on the roof, he was sweating, slightly nauseous, and his arms shook, ready to fall off at the sockets. All his limbs shook and he breathed laboriously. He dragged his feet to the door and paused for a moment to gather his bearings, anxiety and reservations of whom he was about to deliver to just an afterthought at this point.

After a minute or so, when his heartbeat wasn't so irregular, he raised a fist and knocked, still trying his best to catch his breath.

He was still amazed at the view that this apartment had. Even though it was dark outside, the horizon was an orange-purple, and the silhouetted buildings lighted the sky. It must be amazing to see the sunset or sunrise here everyday.

He didn't realize that the door opened.

Sasuke, on the other hand, stared at the blond and had to clench his jaws.

Naruto held back a yelp when he felt a hand yank him by his forearm, nearly dropping his delivery as he stumbled into the dark apartment, being dragged about by Sasuke. When the raven suddenly stopped in the lighted kitchen and turned around, grabbing the delivery box with a strong arm and placing it on the counter top, Naruto raised his brows in confusion.

Really, what was _with _him? He raised his hand and asked simply, «What…?»

If he wasn't confused before, Naruto had to take a step back when Sasuke wove his fingers through his black hair, rubbing at his neck and settling a hand on his hip. It looked like he was apprehensive.

«What?» he repeated, eyebrows drawn in concern.

Naruto then abruptly let out a sound of dismay and was cut off by the spontaneous motion that Sasuke made toward, grabbing the sides of the blonde's face and crushing his lips to his.

It was terrifyingly painful, worse than what had happened in the train, and Sasuke clenched his hands demandingly over Naruto's shoulders, effectively and firmly preventing Naruto from pulling away.

Naruto reached his arms up and broke away from Sasuke, pushing the raven away from him violently in his shock, heart speeding.

Why did Sasuke do that? How could he _possibly_ think that that was a good idea? What could have been going through his mind to do something like that? Not caring whether Sasuke understood him or not, Naruto lifted his hands and began gesturing wildly at Sasuke. «What are you doing? Why did you do that? _What the fuck is your problem?_» Naruto backed away when he thought that Sasuke was going rush toward him again, but froze in confusion when Sasuke walked right past him.

Before he could turn around to see what Sasuke was doing the light went off in the kitchen, and the apartment filled with a void.

Naruto's heart fell to his stomach and his knees weakened. Why was Sasuke doing this? As perturbed as he suddenly became, he could tell that this was _preplanned_, and that thought alone terrified him. Sasuke had an agenda, and he wouldn't wait to find out exactly how he fit into this.

He blindly reached his hands out and took careful steps, hissing as he bumped his thigh into the corner of what he supposed was the table.

Panicking, he turned.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck_, he thought, limbs shaking. He hadn't seen enough of the interior to know his way around it. Was this why the lights had been off through the rest apartment? Had Sasuke's intention been to get him in the middle of the apartment so he wouldn't know his way back to the entrance?

He couldn't believe that Sasuke was…was doing this.

_Damn it_, _which way?_

He bumped into something, and to his chagrin, it wasn't a wall. His wrist was caught tightly and a cold hand fell on his neck, making him seize up.

"…Hh!"

He shivered and tried to pull away when he felt something Sasuke closing in on him and—oh god, why was this happening? He gulped down air, his mouth having gone dry. Why was Sasuke doing this?

Something hot and moist puffed at his neck.

Wait, was Sasuke...

"_Welcome to the team_…"

He needed to see, right now.

Sasuke leaned against him. "Hnh…" he moaned, nothing more than a childish sound. His body was replaced with a stiff mannequin when the hand holding him by the neck tightened and he felt hair that wasn't his own touching at his neck, forcing him to look up as the other hand tightened against his wrist.

"_Can you get him to fucking shut up!"_

He suddenly twisted, dipping slightly and reaching his free hand up to push Sasuke's face away. "…K…ko…"

This wasn't happening.

"Leh…koh…" _Let go!_

Why was Sasuke doing this? Why was he doing this? Why?

He was bodily handled and his back hit against the edge of a surface, and he let out a yell instantly.

_On his stomach. Cold floor._

This couldn't happen. It couldn't. He had to fight.

Then Sasuke grabbed his other hand, pressing onto him harder, holding tightly.

Something in Naruto broke and his legs collapsed. "Nuh-Nuh…! _Sasssss'ge_!"

Breathless. Horrified.

Sasuke stopped instantly and pulled away, swallowing thickly at hearing his name. He sucked in a large, shaky breath, regretting so much that he had to do this in order to get to Naruto.

As soon as he was free, Naruto didn't run. He leaned heavily against the surface he'd been pushed into, flailing his limbs instantly when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

The lights turned back on, and Sasuke, still standing at the switch, looked at Naruto. Face red. Eyes wide. Legs shaking. Breathing labored.

But the harder he tried to hold back, the harder it became to hold anything back. His chest jerked and he bit his lips.

Sliding to his posterior, Naruto leaned forward and covered his eyes with the crook of his arm, and Sasuke stood in front of him, watching Naruto's shoulders shake, watching him heave painfully. Sasuke tentatively reached his hand forward, pulling it back when Naruto, not looking at him, screeched out "Why?"

Naruto clenched his jaws but couldn't hold back the long, struggling, shaking sound leaking from his lips.

Sasuke could hear Naruto trying to keep it in. With every heave he would moan. But when he moved his hand and placed it in Naruto's hair, knees on the cold tile floor, placing his other hand on Naruto's shoulder—

But not the same as before, never again like that—

Naruto mewled pitifully, arm shaking over his face.

It sounded like a lost, petrified child.

Sasuke's stomach twisted and he merely said, "Naruto." He knew that Naruto couldn't hear him. But he continued. "It's okay."

He was sure of it, now.

"It's okay, Naruto," he said again.

But it wasn't okay.

Someone destroyed Naruto. And he knew what it felt like to be destroyed.

It wasn't okay. It was the worst thing in the world.

* * *

**Comment: **… Um…

D:?

Right…


	15. Part II: Morendo

**Comment**: I would like to repeat again for any of you doubters, **this is not a rape fic**. Without further ado, please carry on.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Morendo**

**.o.**

**.  
**

It took a while for Naruto to calm down. There were a few minutes where all he did was sat on the floor with his arm covering his face. There were another few minutes where he'd finally dropped his arm, but sat with his eyes closed, waiting for his headache to dissipate. When he finally opened his eyes again, it took yet a few more minutes before he could even look at Sasuke.

That gave plenty of time for Sasuke to gather his thoughts.

Sasuke almost wilted under that look that Naruto gave him. It was terrible. So he went away—he went to the phone and called the restaurant. He talked to Chouji and let them know that, yes, Naruto was okay, but no, he wouldn't be coming back right away. After that, he went through the apartment and he turned all the necessary lights on.

When he walked back into the kitchen, he took the delivery box from the countertop. He also found Naruto sitting at the table instead of on the floor. He stared at the blond, putting the food from the delivery box on the table, and he winced, feeling an invisible blow every time Naruto would glance at him.

Naruto looked scandalized and he looked cornered. And he looked like he couldn't _trust_ him.

He knew it would be impossible for either of them to eat—he himself felt nauseous and he was sure that Naruto was in no eating mood, but he got two bottles of water from the fridgidaire and set one in front of Naruto, sitting down at the table as well. He leaned his chin against his folded hands, elbows propped on the table top.

Sasuke looked askance at Naruto, and Naruto kept his gaze fixed on something else. He sighed.

Was it rape? Had he been physically or sexually assaulted? The extremity at which Naruto reacted was a chilling indication that whatever happened to Naruto in his past was obviously no small matter.

He didn't even know why he did what he did. He pushed Naruto too far, and he had to admit to himself that only a fiend would do that just to sate some curiosity. Even he questioned himself repeatedly why he went that far. He really didn't have to do it that way. He wasn't entirely sure of what happened to Naruto, but he was positive that whatever had happened effected Naruto's speech.

Why did he do that…?

The entirely oppressive, strained quiet was broken when Sasuke dropped his hands to the tabletop a little loudly, the vibrations alerting the blond.

Naruto blinked and looked over at him, the rims of his eyes still red, with an expression on his face that Sasuke knew didn't belong there.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked him directly.

Naruto looked at him with eyes that asked him to let this subject rest. He tightened his lips and broke eye contact with Sasuke, jumping slightly when the stationary on the table jerked. He glanced up at the raven again and saw a fist shaking over the table top.

"Is it why you won't speak?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto let out a breath he'd been holding in.

"Is it because someone—" Sasuke paused, swallowing down. Naruto winced. "Were you raped?" Sasuke continued, voice shaking.

Naruto raised his hands slightly, moving his fingers as if he were playing the piano. Or typing.

Sasuke seemed to understand immediately. He got up from his seat and left the kitchen for a moment, returning shortly with his laptop open in one hand, manipulating it as he opened a document program.

He put the laptop in front of Naruto and pulled the chair he'd been sitting in closer, sitting down.

Naruto glanced at him again and then breathed in deeply.

He didn't know why Sasuke was doing this. They weren't friends. They weren't close.

Sasuke had just attacked him like—like _they did_…

Sasuke watched him from his perch patiently, and the quiet room was filled with the sounds of tapping keys. He read the words, thinning his eyes.

'You're wrong. I wasn't raped. I had a bad experience, and it's not any of your business.'

He looked at Naruto directly and said, "I'm making it my business. What happened?" When Naruto sighed and merely typed another few sentences, Sasuke waited. When the screen was directed to him and he read what Naruto wrote, he started quaking, feeling nauseated, disgusted.

'It was a bad prank by some of my schoolmates that went very wrong.'

Was he lying?

'I went missing for two and a half days because they trapped me in the gymnasium closet.'

Was Naruto _lying _to him?

'The guys that did it...I just stayed away from them until they graduated at the end of the year.'

Sasuke stopped. They graduated…? _They weren't **expelled**? _More so than any expulsion, they weren't _arrested _for what they did? That was as good as kidnapping! That's enough to go to jail for up to—

Something clicked in his mind. He looked up at Naruto. "No one knew. That's when you stopped talking…" he said affirmatively.

Naruto looked away from him, but his lack of gesture was as good as saying yes. Sasuke didn't deserve to know this. But no one deserved to have to go through what he went through.

Sasuke tightened his lips. Did his school ever look into this? Did they even try? Or did they just try to hush things up? If there was one thing that Sasuke was aware, it was that no school liked a marred reputation. Something this drastic would have—should have!—made headlines, yet he could not remember ever hearing or reading anything about this. So had he suffered alone? And what had happened before he was trapped in the closet?

He waved his hand at Naruto, and the blond looked back at him. "But you told someone about what happened," he said.

It was almost a question. Almost. Asking it as a question would mean that Sasuke wasn't sure of the answer. But he was sure of the answer because no one would be stupid enough to _not_ tell anyone. No one would live with such a dark, terrible, gnawing thing. Naruto had _parents_, didn't he? He had _Kiba, _didn't he?

God, it was enough to drive anyone mad. Yet, as he looked—really, he didn't have to look hard—at Naruto, and he understood the answer, he let out a shaking breath, whether from quelling his nausea or his anger.

Naruto blinked up at Sasuke, straightening his lips.

Sasuke suddenly became _very _angry when he saw Naruto shrug his shoulders. "You _fucking_ told someone, _right?_" he yelled (Naruto visibly flinched), voice rising before he twisted his hands in his hair and let out a growl.

No, Naruto's silent answer said.

No wonder he didn't talk. He never told anyone, so no one ever _helped _him. No psychiatrist. No psychotherapy. Nothing. So he _was_ chewed up from the inside. He _was_ enduring this by himself.

He rarely felt remorse, but even _he_ had to admit that the next statement was a low, possibly cruel blow. If he could have taken it back, he most certainly would. Still, before his brain could really think about it he said, "How could you be so stupid?"

Naruto's jaw went slack, and the devastation of the comment was clearly evident on his face. As if Sasuke hadn't delivered a blow to him less than an hour ago, he literally just made a statement that Naruto felt in his intestines, attacking his intelligence. He stood up from his chair quickly, the legs of which groaned against the tile floor loudly, and he growled—_growled—_at Sasuke.

"Fug'you, Sass'ge!" He yelled, voice peaking, voice scratching.

What did Sasuke know! He didn't even know!

After what he did to Naruto, for him to just call the blond stupid? It angered him more than anything else! Did he enjoy it? Did Sasuke breaking Naruto down like he did? Did he _enjoy_ pushing him that far?

There weren't even words for monsters like him, like the people who'd hurt him! They were the worst kinds of beasts, animals who fed on pain! No human could do something like that!

Like hell would he ever tell anyone all of what happened! If Sasuke, who barely knew him, reacted this way to this, then he couldn't ever tell Jiraiya or Kiba some of the things they said, _did_ to him. Everything he thought and felt about Sasuke was true! _Everything._

He was a bastard. He was presumptuous! And his holier-than-thou air was so suffocating, with his downward looks of derision! Did he ever go through anything this bad in his life? Doubtful!

Sasuke stared up at Naruto, stunned.

Naruto clenched his jaws angrily, and then he unexpectedly lunged at Sasuke, fist wound back, and, pushing him by the shoulder, punched him square in the face.

Sasuke covered his face right after impact, feeling the weightlessness of falling, where the stomach quivers for a moment and the heart stops beating, and let out a shout when the back of his seat hit the floor, leaving him sprawled before Naruto, blood dripping from his nose.

"Fuck!" the raven shrieked, covering his bleeding nose. As angry as he was, though, he couldn't possibly retaliate.

He'd already done enough damage. He wouldn't want to hurt him more.

Naruto looked away from Sasuke, not regretting what he did, and grabbed the delivery box. He turned to the entrance of the kitchen, passing Sasuke angrily, resisting the urge to beat the raven with the hollow metal object.

_Fuck...**Fuck**! _He _hated_ Sasuke. More than anything right now, he _hated him_. He stomped through the apartment, passing through a room that Sasuke obviously used for music, as there was sheet music strewn everywhere, a viola resting against a couch, a violin lying on a chair, and a large piano plastered against the wall.

He thinned his eyes at the piano, walked over to it, and slammed his fist against the keys a few good times in his anger, walked away, and managed to find the front door.

He'd almost grabbed the violin and thrown it against the wall. But no, he'd show more respect to an inanimate object than he would to Sasuke, because at least _it _wouldn't hu—

At least it wouldn't do anything to him.

When he reached the door, tears of frustration were at the corner of his eyes, and his head felt ready to burst, but he twisted and pulled, hissing when it didn't budge a bit. He turned the two locks in frustration—and why would someone have so many locks!—growling when the door still didn't budge.

He wiped his eyes angrily, slamming a fist against the door, wishing so badly that he was punching Sasuke again.

He'd never even come close to telling anyone all the details. But as he did—

Damn it, Sasuke wasn't important to him, but why did it hurt so much? _**Fuck!**_

Naruto e jolted when a pale hand reached down to the bottom of the door and pulled up a hatch. He turned, glaring at Sasuke, who was covering his nose with his free hand, and clenched his jaw hard at him, pulling at the door.

When it opened, he stepped out, turned around, wiping at the corner of his eye before shaking his head at the raven in disgust and turning away.

That damn _bastard_.

Sasuke watched him rush to the stairs and blinked, walking to the ledge of the building and looking down. After about a two or so minutes, Naruto was bursting from the entrance doors, stomping his feet angrily.

He propped his box onto the bicycle, kicking at a lamppost and running his hands through his hair. He grabbed the handle bars of his bicycle, clenching his fingers around it, and shook the thing viciously, letting go and jumping in obvious aggravation. And then he stopped.

Sasuke, still covering his nose, quirked a brow. Then he kicked his head back in surprise when the blond suddenly looked up the ground level, staring right at him.

Even from his perch, he could tell that Naruto was staggered as well to see him standing there, watching him. But then he looked down again, shaking his head, before he got on the bike.

But why did he look up?

_Why did I look up? Why did I look up?_ Naruto berated himself, eyes switching to and fro in confusion. Reaching forward, he pulled the bicycle away, sat on it and rode off.

_Why did I look up_…?

When he reached the restaurant, Shikamaru gave him an odd glance, watching him put the things away.

When Sasuke had called, Chouji said it sounded urgent, but Sasuke didn't give any details.

He faced Naruto, who walked into the kitchen with sunken shoulders, and put a hand on his shoulder before he could pass him. Bending his knees slightly and lowering his head, he examined Naruto's face. "'You okay, Naruto…'" he asked.

Naruto lowered his eyes, glancing to the side, not looking at Shikamaru. And silently, he wondered what was so different about this touch than Sasuke's.

He looked up again.

"'What happened?'" Shikamaru pursued.

Naruto tightened his lips and shimmied his shoulder out of Shikamaru's grasp, wondering slightly why his friend's touch didn't burn as much as Sasuke's. «I don't want to talk about it,» he answered. «Just let me get back to work.»

"What did Sasuke do?" Shikamaru asked angrily. "He said that it was urgent!" he paused, shaking his head. "He sounded _worried_, Naruto!"

«Nothing. Happened!» Naruto signed emphatically. «Leave it alone!» He was confused enough as things were; he didn't need a lashing from Shikamaru.

Shikamaru pulled back and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. But you're 45 minutes later than you should be. Chouza is pissed, if not worried."

Naruto rolled his eyes in irritation. «Okay, fine!»

For the rest of the night, Naruto was rather short with _everyone_, which was so unlike him. And when Chouza confronted him about his tardiness, he simply stared at the owner, arms crossed impassively (which did nothing to improve on Chouza's sour mood), and walked away when the man was done disciplining him.

And it was all Sasuke's damn fault.

A lot of things that he thought had been buried deep were exhumed. Memories, feelings, they were completely encompassing his thoughts and senses, making it hard for him to finish his task.

By the time he got home—much later than he'd purposed—he was just devastated, emotionally drained. He walked into his apartment and didn't even greet Kiba.

Akamaru yipped and yowled, running circles around him, but he ignored the canine.

The brunet waved a hand at him stiffly, but Naruto chose to ignore him too, walking into the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

He knew that Kiba would want to talk.

And he didn't want to talk about anything. Kiba didn't deserve the treatment, but he wanted to be selfish.

He just wanted to sleep. Quite possibly forget and quite possibly never wake up, but it was too late now. He remembered everything so clearly. Everything.

What he did. And what he couldn't do. How he'd tried to…

Why didn't they stop…?

He was found on a Monday morning by one of the physical education teachers—barely lucid, bound, bruised. The smell of ammonia made the teacher gag. He'd woken up hours later in a soft, white hospital bed, and Jiraiya and Kiba were right there.

And even though he turned away from them and curled in on himself—

Even though he didn't speak a word after—not a sound or anything—not a testimony, not even an outburst of emotion—

They already knew how terribly he'd been humiliated.

This was nothing he wanted to share. It was his burden.

**Past**

Naruto walked toward the locker room, heaving in a large gulp of air. He was walking. Thank god. He was finally done with physical therapy—for two weeks now—and life was moving. He had the mobility to go wherever he wanted. He didn't need Kiba to be hanging over him like a shadow, or Jiraiya waiting on him.

He could do things on his own again. He hadn't been walking for six months. He'd been confined to a wheelchair for six months after his intensive surgery. It was quite possibly the worst feeling he had, not being able to walk.

That was aside from the accident itself.

So he wanted to do everything possible with his legs, because he enjoyed that feeling.

He never knew how much he enjoyed walking until he'd lost mobility of his legs. He was going to use them as much as he could. He'd made a resolution. And after classes today, he'd met with the track and field coach, and the man told him that he made the team.

Mind you, he was a _substitute_ team member, but he was now part of the track team nonetheless.

When he got to the locker room, he began to change. As he was slipping on his shorts and reaching to the bench for his shirt he heard a dull, fuzzy sound.

"Naruto! You coming here to practice?"

The blond turned around, putting his hearing aid in, grinning when he saw four of his teammates, two of them top runners. "Yeah," he answered, "I figured I'd practice a bit on my own so that I can catch up to you guys eventually."

"Oh, that's cool," one of them said loudly. His name was Kakuzu or something.

Naruto tilted his head at them. "You're going to practice too?" he asked them.

"Yeah, we were just going to practice for the long distance race on Monday. Run a few miles or something," Tobi, the top runner answered, weaving his fingers through his hair leisurely.

_He looks so cool…_ Naruto thought in admiration. He was going to be top runner soon; he could feel it. "Sweet!" he responded. "Can I join? I wanted to jog a couple of miles."

"Yeah, sure," the other two, Hidan and Zetsu, responded simultaneously, shrugging.

Naruto nodded and pulled out his hearing aid again so he could finish dressing. He set it on the bench and reached for his t-shirt.

The next he knew, he was doubled over from a painful blow to his stomach, both arms grabbed as he was slammed against the cold lockers. "Ow, wha—"

Kakuzu picked up the hearing aid from the bench, observing it in interest. "Man, these things are so small…" he mumbled, then looked over at Naruto. "So, like, you're completely deaf in one ear, right?" he asked.

Hidan then pouted, sauntering toward Naruto, leaning in closely. "I think it's this one where he can only hear a little bit." He looked at the blond. "Right?"

Naruto looked at him angrily. "That's not funny…!" he said, hissing. He tried to wriggle his arms, but they weren't budging. Instead, he lifted his foot and slammed his shoed heel on one of Hidan's feet.

"Ah, fuck! Damn you!" Hidan yelled angrily. Then he slammed his fist into Naruto stomach again, and Naruto bent over to staunch the pain, coughing heavily and sucking in a huge gulp of air.

"Come on, Naruto. Can't take a joke?" said Tobi, standing in front of him. He stepped right up to Naruto, legs together. "Can't?" he repeated, tapping the blonde's scarred cheek.

Naruto instantly kicked his leg up, and Tobi, having already been prepared, pivoted and took a step back. "Whoop!" he smirked, tilting back when Naruto's other leg shot up. He reached forward and caught the blond behind the knee, holding his leg up.

"Let go!" Naruto barked, awkwardly hanging in the air. "This isn't funny! And give me back my hearing aid!"

"Aw, but you came so late into the team, Naruto!" Kakuzu said, pouting. "So you didn't have initiation like the rest of the freshmen!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Students and their damned their initiations. Sometimes those weren't funny. What where these guys planning? Strip him and make him run on the track naked or something? So immature. He then froze when Tobi grabbed his other leg from behind the knee, leaving him hanging in the air at their mercy.

But it wasn't that which made him freeze. It was the sudden look that Tobi had as he pushed forward and settled himself closely against Naruto.

"O—okay, guys, this isn't really funny…" Naruto said shakily.

"Would you fucking. Shut. _Up_?" Kakuzu asked angrily, throwing the hearing aid in Naruto's face rather painfully. "You talk so much. You don't even realize that you mumble a lot when you speak, do you?" he asked, hand on his hip.

Naruto dropped his jaw at the insensitive comment. Yes, he was aware that because he could barely hear himself, he was beginning to clip some syllables. "Guys," he started.

"Really," Tobi finished, brows scrunched in mocking display of sympathy. "You should just stop talking. It's sort of painful to hear you talk. Tell me, though. How does it feel to not even be able to hear yourself?" He shuffled his feet until Naruto's back was plastered to the lockers again, half of the blonde's body still dangling in the air.

Tobi was _in Naruto's space._

And what the hell? Why would they even ask something like that? That wasn't any of their business! "Shut up and _put me_—"

"Seriously, Naruto." Kakuzu bent over Naruto, and clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth. The smile that was on his face initially was replaced with a slightly irritated glare. "Shut. Up."

Something about the way Kakuzu said it made Naruto's heart thud. He began to struggle against Jun and Toge, who were still holding his arms.

"Fuh-_huck_…" Tobi groaned, the word rolling off his tongue. His expression alerted Naruto.

"Hm," Kakuzu mumbled, looking around. "What say we take a little trip?"

Naruto was suddenly dragged out of the locker room and through the gymnasium, protesting loudly, bodily struggling against them. "Let _go!_" He let out a loud grunt when he was thrown into a heap of gym equipment.

They were in the equipment closet?

"Damn it!" Naruto growled, standing up and detangling himself from the misplaced ropes and nets. The light in the closet switched on, and as if suddenly remembering how he got in there, he turned around. "Guys, this really isn't funny," he growled, pulling his foot up from a net that it was entangled in.

"He's so annoying," Hidan mumbled. Naruto had to lean forward to hear it because it was stated so quietly.

Instead, Zetsu tilted his head and looked at Naruto. "But it's true. He really looks like a chick."

Naruto's eyes widened at the statement.

"It's cuz he's a little short," Tobi said, smiling. "I heard he ain't gonna grow much more cuz of the surgery."

"Yeah?" they asked in amazement. "Sucks for him," Hidan added with a grin.

It was a little weird hearing them speak about him like he wasn't _standing_ in the room. He was sure that people talked about him, but to his face? And what the fuck was that, saying that he looked like a girl? Shaking his head angrily, he made to push past them so that he could get to the door.

Frankly, he was done with their little joke, and he didn't even feel like running anymore today.

Instead, a hand grabbed at his shoulder, another his wrist, and before he passed any of them, Tobi pressed his hand against his bare chest.

"Get out of my way," Naruto murmured darkly, bunting Tobi's hand away with his wrist. "You guys are _sick_."

As if his words meant nothing, another hand twisted into his hair, pulling his head back sorely as his arm was twisted behind his back. "You know what I also heard?" Hidan started, resting his chin on Naruto's shoulder from behind and scratching his fingers on Naruto's scalp.

It left Naruto immobile, a dull throb at the base of his sternum making him nearly nauseous. "Let go of me," he ordered, voice shaking. He knows he'd said it many times before, but what else could he say?

"What?" they asked. "That he's _dickless_?" Tobi laughed.

"I heard that he's a _natural _blond," Hidan finished, grinning. "Someone spied it out in the locker shower a few days ago."

"Oh, really? I thought it was bleached?" Zetsu asked.

"Well then, check for yourself," Hidan suggested, lowering his chin.

Check for yourself.

What?

That was a joke, right?

But it obviously wasn't, because a hand wandered somewhere it most certainly didn't belong, and Naruto instantly shrank in on himself. "Get off me!" he screeched. "Let me go! Let m'muph!" he yelled, voice muffled by the end because Hidan's hand went from his hair to covering his mouth.

"Shit, someone came in," Tobi said suddenly, standing straight. He heard the gymnasium door open from the far end. He clicked his tongue. "I'll handle this," he said. "I'll be right back." He picked up a few orange cones from the floor and walked out, as if pretending that he was cleaning a mess.

Naruto tried to yell loudly as soon as the door opened but whimpered in pain instead when a knee kicked him _there_.

When Tobi stepped back in, he looked angry, throwing the cones in the corner. "Those bitches," he mumbled. His teammates looked up at him in confusion. "A couple of girls just taking a shortcut through here." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Where were we?" he asked.

He looked down at Naruto, who was on his knees, face red from pain. "Why—" Naruto gasped, "why are you guys doing this?"

"Why _not?_" Tobi asked, smiling. "Come _on_! Just _look_ at you!"

"I don't—"

"Oh, come on!" Tobi said in exasperation. "Get him to fucking shut up!" he yelled, pointing at Zetsu and Kakuzu.

"Get off me! G'off!" His struggling renewed because there was nothing funny about this. If this was a joke, it'd gone too far.

"God! Stop _talking!_"

Naruto shook and tried to push himself up, but doubled over when a particularly strong fist buried itself in his torso, thrusting air from his lungs. He coughed out in pain and then hitched his breath in sudden terror when something wrapped around his mouth.

They _gagged_ him?

_Oh _no, no_. _This was when things got serious. This wasn't happening. His eyes widened when Tobi grinned and lowered his hand to his own crotch. "Oh man," Tobi murmured, staring down at Naruto, "I suddenly have to piss."

"Ah, me too!" Zetsu whined, grinning at reached his leg forward and stomped his heel multiple times into Naruto's torso.

A buzz of sound whispered hotly into his ear. He felt like he was in a bubble, the words thrown at him fuzzy, popping, watery.

Yet, he was going to wake up, and this was only going to be a nightmare.

When lights were turned back off and he could feel hands twisting his hair, wrenching his head back and forth, side to side, he shut his eyes. It hurt. He couldn't see.

He could feel the moist breath of someone against his ear, and then he heard, "Welcome to the team, deaf boy. Wait, who are we kidding. You'll never be like us."

He felt hot liquid draining onto his chest, his stomach, and the smell of urine invaded his nose. A hand mashed his face against the floor, and he felt another spray of urine landing over his eyes, his cheek, in his hair, on the cloth covering up his mouth. He could faintly hear devastating, harsh words being screamed into his ear.

Half-breed. Dickless. Useless. Scum. Retard. Garbage. Deaf boy.

He curled in on himself, trying to minimize the pain of any physical assault.

When at last they left after the extensive assault, they left him covered in bruises from the kicks and punches they'd hailed to various parts of his body. The last of them took and tied a jump rope around his hands quite expertly, like he'd done something like this before.

"Good job," he'd said, poking the blond on his forehead, leaning forward to speak into his ear. "You didn't even peep! But you preach about this to anyone, and we'll make your life hell."

The monster stood up and smiled at the blue eyes staring up painfully at him, turned around, and closed the door behind him.

When the darkness enshrouded him, Naruto closed his eyes, succumbing to the agony. He shivered, all of his straining muscles reaching their peak, and he finally tiredly relaxed his muscles, letting out a long, stifled moan.

This was worse than any nightmare.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

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**Comment: **Oh dear.


	16. Part III: This Noise Confuses

**Comment**: Please enjoy. This chapter is long.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**This Noise Confuses  
**

**.o.**

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Sakura prided herself on being an observant person. Knowing what someone was thinking, tt was always in the body language, she knew—the short facial moves, twitches, glances—passing things that most would tend to overlook.

Lunch today was normal again. Normal being…? Well, at least no one was fighting or arguing over anything. But actually, that was slightly _abnormal_. Because Naruto and Sasuke _always _had some_thing_ to argue about. So the fact that there was peace at the table made everyone at the table a little unsettled.

Who knew?

Usually Naruto was bothering Sasuke about something, but the two weren't exactly addressing each other. 'Verbally' that is. And Sakura noticed this _big time_. Because though there was no 'verbal' interchange, there was still some type of silent dialogue between the two—slight though it was. And they were _not_ happy with each other.

They were both incredibly _tense_.

For example, Naruto would occasionally glance at Sasuke and tighten his lips in a deep-set but short-lived scowl, then avert his eyes quickly, brows drawn until he settled his sights on someone else at the table.

Of course, this could possibly be due to Sasuke's fleeting expressions. Take now, for example. He, with a fatigued gaze, kept _openly _looking at Naruto, chin propped on his fist as _if_ he was actually engaged in the conversation at the table, but he was, in fact completely devoid of emotion or care for the interchange. Oh, they were willing to have discussion with anyone else at the table, but not with each other.

There was more:

This had been going on for a solid week.

Even _Neji_ told her that the two were literally not 'talking' with each other. Yesterday, for example, when class was over, Sasuke who had been writing the notes by hand for the past week, placed the well-written notes on Naruto's desk without even looking at him. It was like he was just walking by the desk and happened to drop the notes on his way past.

Hadn't they somewhat patched up their meager relationship weeks ago?

Thus, Sakura knew that something definitely happened between the two. Again. She'd been following their 'movements' since the week started.

_Really_? The rosette thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes. _Did these two **really**_ _find something new two grill each other about?_ She shook her head ruefully, lost in her own world.

"…don't think so, Sakura?"

Sakura jumped to attention, catching the last few words directed at her. "Huh? Oh! Oh what?" she asked frantically, eyes wide, and chopsticks stabbing at her udon.

Ino puckered her brows at her friend and flared her nose cutely, pushing back her long blonde tress to tuck it behind her ear. Sakura was so out of it lately—lost in thought and staring off, but definitely thinking about something deeply. "Definitely not paying attention," the blonde murmured with a cluck of her tongue.

Sakura bit her lip to hide her mischievous and somewhat guilty smile. "Sorry," she worded, clenching her jaw. "I'm just kind of out of it lately, I guess…Just really set on something on my mind."

Ino breathed out through her nose, lifting her brows and propping her chin on her fist. "Hon, what's wrong with you lately?" she asked in genuine concern. "Did something happen between you and Lee?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, not at all. It's really hard for him to make a mistake; he's just so careful at everything he says and does to me. It's so adorable—he treads light. I almost _want_ him to make a really gigantic mistake," the rosette answered, laughing lightly.

"Is it s-chool?" Hinata asked. "Are your c-classes getting s-stressful?"

Sakura waved off the question in dismissal. "No, no, it's not that. You guys really don't need to be worried!"

"Oh," Hinata said, wilting.

"Aw, Hinata, I'm not angry with you," Sakura said, smiling. She only received a nod from the girl instead. _Poor thing. She makes the tiniest mistake and then clamps up._

"So what is it with you lately? You're very broody," Ino said. "Do we need to have a heart to heart? An all girls thing? Oh! Do you want to do something, Hinata?" She asked, getting carried away in her sudden excitement.

Hinata smiled at her and then nodded. "I'd really love to…!"

"While I would _love_ to do something fun," Sakura started, "and I'm not ruling it out, I'm really honestly okay. Just…thinking about some things…"

Ino huffed through her nose, saying, "You know, we all are experiencing this limited social life during the prime of our youth." She twirled her fork through her rice. "Like seriously, we don't _do_ anything. I know we had the party a couple of weeks ago, but we never just hang. Go to the amusement park or movies or something…"

"Not all of us have the luxury of _hanging_," Neji retorted. "Hinata and I basically live double lives. Home is stress-inducing. As soon as we walk out those doors, we transform into the Hyuuga children we were raised to become."

"You know, I totally disagree with that," Ino said with a pout. "You guys should _live your life_ freely! We're kids! We're going to rebel. We _gotta_ fuck up our lives, you know?" Ino said animatedly, waving her hands about. "It's like, we're given license to do that. It's our right!"

Hinata giggled. "I wish I could think more freely like you, Ino," she said softly.

"Well just stop letting your mind be spoiled by the adults. We're the future! Our generation has gotten so broody and serious and disassociated with each other because adults keep tying us down and _stickin' _it in us—you know, their rules and shit—and we know we don't want it! I call rape, and we're like little empty ghosts with PTSD!"

"Wow," Hinata started in amazement, "You...ah...wow. You're ama-amazing, Ino."

"Why thank you," Ino said with a haughty bow. "I lecture freely, but donations are always welcome."

"Oh shut up," Sakura grinned.

The raven was slightly stuck on the term that Ino had used. "What was that you said?" he suddenly asked out of nowhere, definitely turning heads.

Ino blinked at Sasuke, tilting her head. "I'm sorry, who just spoke? You were here all this time, Sasuke?" she asked sarcastically. "You were so disengaged until I mentioned something about metaphorical, sadistic libido."

Sasuke thinned his eyes at her in a deadpanned, exasperated glare, daring her to push the statement.

"We're all fellow victims of the system at this table, right?" Ino asked, suddenly jumping after a short pause. "Take Naruto here," Ino continued.

The blond froze, shaking his head. «Count me out of this convo,» he replied. «I'll just listen in.»

"Right…" Ino responded, shaking her head as she ignored him. "I love how you've stuck your middle finger to the world! You're a really strong person. Society just loves to trample on people who are disabled, but you turn to them and give them a very warm, 'Fuck you!'"

Naruto grinned at her, shrugging his shoulder shyly as he nodded.

"And you know, I'm pretty sure that you've gone through a load of crap to be where you are right now, Naruto," Ino said in admiration. It was astounding how despite her verbal diarrhea, she could manage to hit a nail right on the head. "I'm totally 100 percent behind you!"

Naruto grinned, giving a quick thanks and blushing heavily.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, shaking his head and letting out an irritated puff of air. "No, Ino, your random choice of 'metaphorical, sadistic…" he paused, struggling for a word better than libido (as he believed that she used it slightly wrongfully), "ah, '_fornication'_ was not what I was talking about," he retorted. "What piqued my interest was your use of the term PTSD…"

"PTSD?" Ino asked, leaning forward.

Sasuke flicked his gaze to Naruto so quickly that it was missed. He gave a long blink and then sat back, mulling the words over in his mind.

"Uh, and why are you so interested in this?" Ino asked asked.

Again, Sasuke flicked his eyes toward Naruto quickly. Instead of answering Ino, he stood up. He wondered if there were some physical manifestations of PTSD.

_Oh my god, what the hell is going on…?_ Sakura thought. She _caught _those glances!

"I need to go, I'm tutoring someone today," Sasuke said coolly, gathering his things. Without saying anything further, he picked up his tray and left, disappearing behind double doors.

"Huh," Neji murmured. "Awkward."

Sakura wasted no time. She stood up as well, grabbing her bag. "I have a date with Lee tonight. I wanna get home and take a nap. I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Okay, see you," Hinata said quietly.

"Don't get too naughty, Sakura," Ino said with a wink, nudging her female friend.

"Ino, you need a boyfriend," Sakura hissed, gritting her teeth as she sipped the last of her drink. "I'll see you guys! By Neji, Naruto, Hinata!"

Naruto gave her a wave, forcing a short-lived smile, and Neji voiced his goodbye.

"Yeah right," Ino mumbled after Sakura walked away, sitting back in her seat. "She definitely just went in the same direction that Sasuke went in. The exit is the other way. Sneaky little minx."

**-Silent Sonata-**

As soon as she'd gotten out of eyesight of her friends, Sakura ran to catch up to Sasuke. She wasn't surprised at all that she didn't find him going towards the music wing. Instead, Sasuke was quickly making his way to the library, taking the steps by twos. _Where's the fire? _Sakura thought as she followed him inside from a good distance.

Sakura slightly felt bad that she was spying on a friend that she'd known for years. At the same time, she was curious. She decided to fall back a little more, but got distracted when she received at text message from Lee, reinforcing the time of their date. By the time she finished responding and looked back up, she lost track of the Uchiha.

"Shit," she hissed rather loudly, causing some heads to turn in the otherwise quiet building. Blushing in embarrassment, she walked a few steps and happened to look up, seeing Sasuke on the second floor and asking a librarian a question. She went to the staircase and climbed up quickly. As soon as she reached the second level, she bumped right into Sasuke, who had merely been passing the staircase to get to his desired location.

"Watch where you're go—Sakura?" The raven's harsh whisper turned quickly into the surprised tone.

"Ah…busted," Sakura said, snapping her finger.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, straightening up and lowering his voice. "You were following me."

"Well you've been acting real suspicious lately, Sasuke!" she answered defensively.

"Shush! Please, have some respect for your classmates!"

"Sorry," Sakura said aloud to the librarian.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and then grabbed the strawberry-blonde by her wrist, turning about. She stumbled as he weaved through the isles of bookcases until he was in a more isolated area of the library, where he was sure they wouldn't bother anyone.

"What's going on between you and Naruto, Sasuke?" Sakura asked instantly, cutting to the chase.

"Nothing," Sasuke lied, though it looked like he was itching to say something.

Sakura dropped her chin slightly, giving Sasuke a dubious stare. "_Sasuke_—"

"When we were in high school," he started suddenly, causing Sakura to lose her stiffness and blink at him. Sasuke didn't really reminisce. Ever. "When we got together," he continued.

Sakura blushed crimson, biting on her lip and smacking his arm. He flinched, letting out a whispered 'Ow!' The female clenched her teeth. "Don't talk about that so easily and loudly!" she hissed. "I thought we vowed to never bring that up!" Sakura paused, thinking over her words, before something in her stomach dropped. "Why are you bringing it up?"

"Tch. Just listen…!" Sasuke said impatiently. "When we got together…, it was your first time, right?" he asked.

She blushed again. "Y-yes?" she answered, mouth dry. _How can he talk about this so easily. It's still difficult for me to get over… _"Why…?"

And now it was his turn to get slightly uncomfortable. "And it was…special? To you?"

"Sasuke, for anyone's first time it's special—guy or girl. That's something that can never be replaced. It's never the same. Once you lose it, it's totally gone. And when you do it with someone you _really_…love—"

Sasuke was giving her a strange look.

"What…? Why are you looking at me like that…?"

"Sakura…"

"No. No, no. Nope. Don't." _Don't apologize._

There were some things that Sakura couldn't bare. They'd messed up with each other. They both made a mistake. It was a few years ago.

Sasuke thinned his lips and gave a sigh. "What about assault?" he asked, more so to himself than for Sakura to hear.

Sakura tilted her head. "That's a nightmare…" she answered. _Why are we bringing this up. I came here to talk to him about Naruto. Why did he change the subject when I asked him about Naruto? And why is he talking about se—_

_Oh god._

_Oh my god._

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped. "Did you—and Naru—"

"**No**," Sasuke hissed, almost disgusted. He pushed his hair out of his eyes. _Damn it…_ "No," he repeated, assuring Sakura.

"Okay," she answered simply. There was a pause. _I think I see. _"Sasuke," she started slowly, quietly. "Do you…_like_ him—"

"I **don't**," he answered in that same tone—a matter of fact tone.

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes," he answered with a hiss.

"You _do_," Sakura insisted.

Sasuke glared at Sakura, letting his hand fall from his hair. Damn her! "I _don't_," he growled.

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "But seriously, Sasuke, what's happened between the two of you? You're back to square one again."

Sasuke adjusted his bag on his shoulder and without looking at her, answered, "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Sakura blinked at him incredulously. Was he pouting? She blinked again, shook her head in a resolved manner, and suddenly reached up, pinching his cheek _very _painfully.

He hissed.

Swatting her hand away and pressing his fingers to his sore cheek, Sasuke let out, "Why would you do that?"

Sakura grinned. God, getting Sasuke riled up and using his low tolerance for pain was very amusing. He was completely hypersensitive. "Because," she started, turning. "For a second there, you looked like a cute little boy. _And _you were blushing. I couldn't possibly resist."

"I do _not_ blush," he retorted in a warning manner.

"Whatever. You were."

Sasuke glared at her. "Tch."

"By the way, Sasuke. Let me ask you one more question," she started, pushing back her hair.

"What?" he barked.

"Why are you holding back?" Sakura asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

Sasuke glared at her. "What are you talking about?"

The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. I know you have photographic memory. I've known you for years now. So I'm sure you've picked up on more than enough sign language. So why aren't you using it?"

Sasuke didn't answer her. He deflated slightly, blinking at her. "Because…"

Sakura nodded. "Because…?"

_Because that would mean…_

"Despite what you think, Sasuke, I do know how you think. For once, Sasuke, don't be afraid just…let it go. Open your arms, you jerk. Be that secret person that didn't mind smiling and that wasn't so tense. Open up." Sakura canted her head again, feeling like she was talking to a young child. She shrugged quickly. "Okay, I guess you're free to go now."

Sasuke straightened his lips and stared down at the rosette. It looked like words had no effect on him, as his expressing didn't change. But when he raised his hand up, Sakura didn't expect him to place it atop her pinked hair, patting his fingers on her cranium once, gently. He bent forward a little, hand still on her head, noses nearly touching, and he said with such an awkward gait, "You're still very cute, Sakura."

A bird could make a nest in Sakura's open mouth. Even when he pulled away and turned back to the staircase, Sakura could only stare.

Uchiha Sasuke was once a very charming person.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto sighed as he placed the dirty plates in the large dishwasher. He was really trying to move on from the 'incident' in the past week. But no matter what, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He was trying to get back into his regular routine, but he could not get past what happened with Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Sasuke was strange.

_Ah, stop thinking about it. Get back into your routine!_

What was worse was that Naruto wasn't terribly angry with him anymore.

He leaned back to loosen the nicks in his spine, scratching at his scalp. He was getting there.

What was worse was that Naruto could understand Sasuke. Slightly.

He definitely didn't agree with his methods, but he understood Sasuke.

If there was one thing Naruto hated, it was being in a prolonged bad mood. So now, only a week after his and Sasuke's major fallout, he was over it. Granted, he woke up a few nights gasping for breath, reliving the horrid memories in his sleep. But the waned after a few days. He had more important things to worry about, anyway. Work, play piano, be with friends—that was his resolve. Playing piano effectively helped to drown out all of the negativity. Speaking of piano, Iruka told him that his skills were really improving.

He grabbed the large plastic tub on his way out from the kitchen, making his way to other dirty tables. And he started thinking about Sasuke again.

Sasuke was somewhat childish, but not in an immature way. He was unreasonably demanding, matchlessly inquisitive, and willing to go to some extreme lengths just to get an answer.

Persistent. _That's _what he was. Sasuke was very persistent. _I guess I just saw that as something negative given my situation,_ Naruto thought. _But that's actually a very admirable trait and—oh ew._

He halted for a second. He just complimented Sasuke! _Think negative!_ Ah, it made Naruto's head spin. Placing the full tub of dishes against his hip for further leverage, he went to one more table, stacking up the plates and cups, throwing the utensils in the bin, and carrying the plates by hand. As soon as he turned around to head for the kitchen, he abruptly knocked into a young woman with terribly bright red hair, sending her falling and his hand-held plates crashing.

Naruto recovered quickly, putting the tub down on the floor gently and signing apologies profusely to the woman.

Tenten was quick to come to Naruto's aid.

"No way! This is a new shirt! It's silk!" the woman hissed as she pulled her large bag closer to her, glaring at Naruto, who was picking up the large pieces of broken glass.

"Miss, let's go to the bathroom! I'll help you clean it," Tenten suggested, at which the redhead shrugged of the girl's hand, pushing up her glasses.

"I can take care of myself," she retorted, standing up and shaking her head irritably at Naruto. She growled softly, flinching away from Tenten, who offered her assistance again.

Naruto signed again, shaking his head and wiping his forehead. Was this gonna be a bad day?

"Don't worry about it, Naruto," Tenten assured him.

**.o.**

Naruto sat back, running his hands through his hair. He was tired—and just as he'd thought it was a pretty long day. Between that woman he'd bumped into and very irritable, impatient customers, it was a bit troublesome. Shaking his head, Naruto reached for the lock on his locker, jumping slightly when Chouza's heavy hand fell on his shoulder.

The blond turned and smiled, giving a short wave. «Hard day!» he said.

Chouza nodded quickly and said, "Thanks for your hard work, Naruto." It was a tired statement, and Naruto could tell just from his demeanor that something was wrong.

«What…?» the blond asked hesitantly.

The large man wired his fingers through his hair uncertainly—hesitantly; and Naruto couldn't really tell what the man was thinking. This was slightly odd, being that Chouza had been in a good mood for the duration of the day.

"Naruto," he started, clenching his jaws. "There's something that I need you to come clean about."

The blonde's eyebrows shot into his hair, surprise clearly evident on his face. _Come clean? About what?_ He gave the boss a dubious, unknowing stare, shaking his head. «I don't know what you're talking about, boss.»

Naruto saw the man's chest _heave_ so heavily and instantly felt his legs weaken. "You know what I'm talking about, Naruto. I just want you to admit to it and come clean. Did Mizuki put you up to this? Have you been talking to him even when I warned you?"

_Come clean? _It was like earth was becoming heavier with each word. _Mizuki? What the hell._

"I'll let you off easily."

He felt crushed with accusation. _I'm being accused…_ He wracked his brain for _anything_ that he could have done unintentionally today or in the past couple of days. «If…if this is about dropping the stuff earlier, it wasn't my fault…!» he started defensively.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about!" Chouza retorted. He was becoming angrier by the moment.

The man looked ready to throttle him.

"I really didn't want it to have to come to this. Empty your apron."

Confusion clearly a mask of white on his face, Naruto did as told without any hesitation, reaching in and pulling everything out.

Pens. A couple of pads. Some straws.

And something snagged against a loose string in his apron pocket. As if insects resided somewhere in his body, something crawled up to his throat as he nervous pulled at the small thing. It finally wrenched free of the thread and Naruto pulled it out.

Why was there a silver ring in his hand?

Stiff, he looked up at Chouza, shaking his head in disbelief.

The boss reached down and plucked the ring from Naruto's damp, opened palm, sighing heavily. Wordlessly, he turned to the locker and pointed at it. "Please open your locker."

He didn't want to. Naruto desperately didn't want to. He was terrified. Why—what was with—why a ring? What was going on?

"Naruto!"

As if Naruto could hear, he was shaken from that booming voice. Jolting immediately, he wringed his hands, taking an unsure step forward. From the corner of his eye, he could see Shikamaru staring into the locker room.

Chouza gave him a look that impelled him to immediate action. He reached his locker in less than a second, pulled at his lock and fumbled with it for a few seconds.

_My combo. My fucking combo. What is it? _Fingers turning the numbers, stopping, reversing. He was so panicked that couldn't remember. He could feel Chouza's impatience strangling him and the man was looming over him like a reaper. He was definitely about to get scythed, and all of it was making Naruto mess up his combo.

Suddenly he remembered, and the breath he'd caged behind his teeth was freed as the lock clicked open. He pulled off the lock, Chouza opened the locker, and he rummaged inside anxiously. The large man's back suddenly went rigid and he reached up to the top shelf, which Naruto _never used_, and he wordlessly turned around, throwing a small tote bag onto the floor, spilling open it's contents.

Naruto leaned his back against his locker because apparently today was the day when his limbs would fail him and fate would play some cruel trick on him without warning.

A wallet.

Chouza had to physically make Naruto look at him, because the blue eyes were trained on the things on the floor. "During this week, I've gotten six calls from customers who have lost items, wondering if they'd been here, if we'd found anything!"

What could he say?

An expensive looking bracelet. A small trinket.

"Today a customer told Chouji that he saw the woman's ring slip off her finger when she bumped into you. And then he _saw you put it in your apron!_"

Naruto shook his head over and over and over.

A credit cad. An expensive fountain pen.

"What do I say to those people now?"

And he couldn't stop shaking his head.

"Stop shaking your head, Naruto!"

Unable to respond, Naruto stared at Chouza. He didn't do it, did he? He knew he didn't do it! Someone was setting him up!

"This is your first warning. You're on a week's suspension."

Naruto shook his head. He didn't want…He didn't…

"Take your things. Now."

What could he do? Put up a fight?

Naruto didn't think he'd feel the sting of betrayal so soon after coming here. The fact alone that Chouza didn't believe him stung. Throat dry and body no longer stiff but melting, he reached into his locker for his duffle bag, not bothering to change.

Instead, he shuffled out, bumping past Shikamaru, not looking at him, and making his way for the door.

Someone was doing this to him. He knew it.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto realized, even in his sleep, that he had a terrible penchant for falling asleep in this music room. But he reasoned that this was probably the only stress-free, safe place for him right now. Everything was falling apart.

Musically, he was advancing—there was no doubt about it, and for that he had Iruka to thank.

But something was missing. And the weight of this invisible oppressor was making him ill. Aside from the fact that he was now on par with a common thief at work, his and Kiba's relationship was definitely fading, and the now nonexistent one with Jiraiya, Naruto was losing something. Almost as if there were a demon clawing at his insides, grabbing hold of his soul and wrenching out its life force.

Was everything becoming meaningless?

He didn't want it to be this way.

He didn't want everything to mean nothing. He didn't understand what was happening to him.

Damn, this migraine was hurling at his skull like a blacksmith with an iron hammer. It was making him nauseous, which was why he was currently sitting on the chair under the window in the piano room.

With the sun beating down on him and a breeze so soothing, Naruto slept.

**.o.**

Uchiha Sasuke never ceased to amaze people. He never really needed to physically speak because his eyes, as dark and void as they were, were so cold and telling. He was always sure. Every move calculated. Every step purposed. Always engaged.

So he knew what he was doing. Where he was going. He knew that his feet were not mindless appendages taking him wherever they wished.

That didn't mean that he knew _why_.

Lately, he didn't understand himself. He knew that he was doing things that weren't his nature. But he never could really answer _why_ he was doing them. So he meant to open this particular door of this particular hall, at this particular time, to confront a particular person. He meant to lean in the doorway, frozen, staring, but not knowing why, and yet _meaning_ to nonetheless.

Unreal.

He couldn't tell where the sunlight ended and Naruto's the hair began. It was a fusion of element and flesh, confounding and sickening but in the most glorious way.

Is this what it felt like to let go like Sakura had told him to do? Because, if for only a moment, he was daring to stare at that sun, completely tied down to the sight, a moth fluttering involuntarily to a light bulb but attracted to the heat, rock floating in space and then pulled in by that undeniable, unrelenting gravity. Silently, he stepped in, closing the door behind him.

And then he was standing in front of it—of him—only it wasn't the sun or some unattainable mass. It was Naruto.

And he wanted to touch him. He damn well could. So he did. Or meant to, at least.

Instead, fingertips nearly melded to the warmth of that Naruto's tanned forehead, resting there for a moment, hesitating before actually pushing Naruto's hair back. Soft. Warm, soft, clean skin. He was touching it, but he wanted to feel it more.

Sometimes he questioned himself. He was often so curious as to what he was drawn to. But then the wind blew. Using Naruto's scent was just an excuse for him to lean closer.

Naruto stirred, Sasuke froze, and then he sighed.

He knew what he was drawn to.

Naruto peeled his eyes open quickly. The sun had felt so warm, the wind so nice, puffing in his face gently.

But when he'd felt something brush against his forehead, he was on instant alert. Was it a wind blown leaf or was it his own hair. No. It was a hand. A finger.

His breath caught at what he saw.

A deep stormy grey. So thick that his stomach fell.

He knew whose eyes the were, but he'd always thought that Sasuke's eyes were coal black.

He pulled back in uneasiness, reaching up to swat Sasuke's hand away, knowing _full well_ that he should be angry.

He wasn't angry.

He sucked in a breath when Sasuke leaned close.

Sasuke moved his hand slightly and couldn't stop staring. His other hand braced onto the ledge that Naruto was resting his head on.

Warm breath on his face. So close.

Sasuke's lips moved, puffing out that warm breeze. Naruto's hair tickled his cheeks, making him shudder, and then his eyes betrayed him.

"I…" Hesitation. "I _really_—" Lips clenched. Eyes very unsure. "I _really_ like your voice."

Naruto blinked. _Pardon?_

"A lot."

The blond swallowed.

"When you said my name." He tilted his head very, very slightly, looking away from him and then looking again. "It was gorgeous." He shut his mouth quickly, as if he'd never meant to say it aloud.

Perhaps he'd slept too long because Naruto was numbed. Completely. Sasuke was opening himself up to him, and quite frankly this was a very vulnerable position he was putting himself in.

So…when Sasuke leaned in further, grey eyes moving, meeting his, seeking, he couldn't pull away. Blood rushed first to his lips, which tingled as soon as Sasuke's lips made contact.

Sasuke was kissing him.

Naruto pulled away quickly and forcefully, standing from his seat.

"Sass'ge…"

He buckled.

"Why're doin'ish." _Not angry. _"Whad'ish it you wan' fr'm'e?"

He wasn't angry at all.

He was confused.

"Why?" Naruto swallowed something down. "Why?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He was completely awe-struck.

Naruto's face contorted. "Sass'ge!"

Maybe he was in too deep, but the way Naruto said his name again made Sasuke move. Grabbing Naruto's face again, he lunged forward and Naruto stood frozen and let it happen. And Sasuke couldn't help it.

Against the wall, Sasuke wanted more, and Naruto was so shocked that soon he was tasting Naruto.

He was tasting Naruto. It felt good. _Tasted _good. And then Naruto made a sound and he couldn't help but press further onto the blond because now all he wanted was to hear more. Something told him to stop.

He needed to stop but he really couldn't. He wanted to hear more.

So Naruto pushed him away, hand on Sasuke's shirt, and let out a grunt that clearly meant he'd been out of breath, eyes becoming glassy. He had to distance himself from Sasuke because he was confused and let Sasuke do that and it was dangerous but it felt—

Sasuke puffed out hair from his lips, causing the trimmings of his hair to fly up before flopping back down. He stared at Naruto intensely from behind his dark bangs, grey eyes darkened and reading and wanting.

Naruto wiped his hand over his eyes at the intensity of Sasuke's stare, hands shaking and breath coming out painfully. But his jaw fell open because Sasuke's hands moved in certain ways that he'd never seen before.

«I like you.»

What?

And breathlessly, Naruto couldn't suppress the weak, breathless, "Huh?"

"I _like_ you."

Naruto's eyebrows lowered and he shook his head, and Sasuke couldn't tell if it was anger or confusion or what. His mouth was thick and heavy and tangy. It hurt, really.

It hurt a lot.

This mockery hurt a lot. Sasuke _was _mocking him, right?

"Sass'ge. 'm no'a toy. Dun' play wiff me."

Sasuke breathed in deeply, shifting lightly and standing straight, looking down at Naruto.

They breathed sharply in each others' face, one confused, the other in want. They intently staring at one another, like a once bright blue sky now tainted with a coming grey storm.

"'hurs, Sass'ge," Naruto said, hitting a fist against his own chest for emphasis.

Frozen, Sasuke wasn't even able to look at Naruto anymore.

"Sass'ge, i'hurs."

_Please don't hurt me, Sasuke._

Sasuke could barely register Naruto brushing past him. He didn't even turn as he heard Naruto pick up his backpack, or when he heard Naruto shuffling to the door to get away from him.

It hurt.

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**Comment: **This was a very difficult chapter, especially the end. However, I hope you enjoyed it.

By the way, I'm going to plug now. There's this really great author that people should know about. Her name is Hic Iacet Mori, and her work is gorgeous.


	17. Part III: Loud as a Whisper

**Comment**: Thank you very much for your reviews. Enjoy this chapter. It is very long.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Loud as a Whisper  
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Sasuke was perturbed. He couldn't feign indifference to mask his feelings. He couldn't even concentrate on making his music, nonetheless _play _anything. And there was only one reason why:

Uchiha Sasuke was bothered by something he was never quite on the receiving end of before: bitter, disgusting, cold _rejection_. Suffice it to say, people didn't already _threw _themselves at him, but he had never really experienced dismissal like Naruto's. And because of it, he couldn't concentrate. On anything. Merely a day after the incident in the music room, Naruto's words were repeating in his mind like a cruel mantra or curse.

But really, it wasn't the way in _which_ he was rejected—it was what Naruto said to him.

_I'm not a toy. Don't play with me._ In that voice. It was like a slap in his face. A toy? Though joking was something he did _rarely,_ Sasuke, was not someone who joked around in this way. He wasn't the type of person that said something without meaning it, least of all when it came to liking someone.

But what had he been thinking? To just kiss Naruto only a few days after finding out that he was assaulted in some violent fashion (and still his stomach quivered in anger thinking about it) was an extremely rash thing to do to Naruto. It was unthinkably reckless.

However, when he told Naruto that he liked him, he wasn't joking. He didn't know when his dislike of Naruto had merged into this strange, almost obsessive need for him, but it was there nevertheless. Either way, he'd never been so serious in his life about something. Not to this proportion, at least.

_Wait_. He really _had_ never been so serious about something in his life. Sasuke put his viola down on his couch and tapped his chin with the tip of his bow, staring up at his grey, concrete wall in thought.

His impeccable memory gave him the ability to exceed in his schooling, in every applicable subject. Even then, getting good grades came _naturally_ to him—he didn't put effort into it and therefore was not 'serious' about it. He barely studied, he did not feel the rush of sleeping overnight to make sure that he wouldn't fail the following day's exams. He never went to study groups. None of those things challenged him, so he never had to put effort into his education.

The same could almost be said of music. His parents discovered his amazing abilities when he was very young, at about four or so. They had been vacationing with him and Itachi in the south of the country.

He could barely remember being a child. When people would jokingly say things like, "I was never a child," he felt that he could mirror those sentiments. But thinking upon it, he remembered being a boy that attracted very small, pudgy girls, as well older women with pinchers as hands. Cute, they'd called him. He remembered that he had chubby cheeks and fingers and large, dark grey eyes. And he _smiled _a _lot_—

Sasuke shook his head. He was veering off the point. He distinctly remembered that day he discovered his musical abilities, having wandered off somehow from his brother's side. He didn't remember exactly how it'd happened. But one moment, his parents were looking into a store front and he was looking too, and then the next moment, he was listening to beautiful music, and his ears became his feet and he followed that sound to its source...

_Where his small feet led him to was a small store filled with instruments and music and light and awe. He stared in from the glass window, wanting badly to be a part of it, eyes widening and his little head, off-beating, bobbing from side to side. But then he found the source of that sound. That wonderful piano._

_His little heart soared and his eyes glistened, and the next he knew he was standing inside the store. He found a spot on the floor, sat, and listened for minutes. He didn't even realize it was over until the tall pianist was leaning over the piano, speaking to him worriedly._

_"Hey, little guy…! Are—did you get lost or something? Is that why you're crying?"_

_Sasuke's small mouth dropped open and he stared up at the man with long blond hair. Too shy to answer aloud, he just shook his head. **Foreigner**, he thought in alarm. **That big brother's a foreigner…! (1)  
**_

_"Well then why are you crying…?"_

_Sasuke quickly wiped his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno! I—hey, I wasn't crying!" he suddenly huffed, standing up. "I'm a boy and **my** big brother says that boys don't cry!"_

_The man then grinned sheepishly, laughing outright at the boy. "Ah, I'm sorry! You're right; I **have **heard that before! What was I thinking?" The boy turned away from him and crossed his arms. "Oh dear, how can I make it up to you?"_

_Sasuke didn't answer—just stared at the instruments. He wanted to hear the music again._

_"Ah, I know!" The bench that the man was sitting on screeched a little as he pushed it back. "Do you wanna play a song with me?" he asked the child, who ignored him angrily. "Or…do you wanna watch me play? I can let you sit **right **here, right next to me!"_

_Sasuke turned slowly, trying not to face the man, but was completely overcome with the prospect of sitting on the chair and watching the big brother play. When the man patted the empty space next to him, he moved to the seat without hesitation, shuffling difficultly. The man promptly picked him up and plopped him onto the seat, ruffling his hair.  
_

_After a while of watching Big Brother play, he would tap on a key occasionally and then giggle wildly, covering his face with his hands as he looked up at the man. He tried to mimic the hand positions, but found his angle to difficult. With a pitiful moan, he whined, "It's to **high **for me, Big Brother! I'm too **little**!" Frustrated tears sat at the corners of his eyes. _

_"Only one way to solve that!" the man responded. He lifted the boy up and put him on his lap, and the child squeaked with glee, looking up at him in admiration._

_"Why is your hair yellow, big brother? Are you a foreigner? My momma says that foreigners are not nice!"_

_"I'm from __Australia__! But my wife is Japanese!"_

_"Well both of **my **parents are Japanese! And you're really nice!" Sasuke then slouched his shoulders. "Do you think my momma would say you're mean?"_

_The man laughed, ruffling his hair. "I don't know! I hope your momma likes me!"_

_The boy returned to the piano keys, then said in a low voice. "I hope so. I **like **you!"_

_"Oh really!"_

_"Uh huh!"_

_He settled his hands on Big Brother's hands and pretended he was playing the piano, enjoying the short, simple melody. Oh, this was **wonderful. **Now he knew how to do something that his brother, Itachi, didn't know how to do! _

_"Have you ever played piano before?" Big Brother asked.  
_

_"Nuh uh. We don't have this in my house. I think our house is too small…"_

_"Ooh…Well I have a son about two years or so younger than you. He **just** started playing piano."_

_"How little does that make him?" Sasuke asked. Littler people knew how to play piano more than him?_

_"Hm. That makes him two!"_

_"That's not fair! He's littler and he…he drools!"_

_The man kicked his head back in laughter. "Well we have one of these pianos at **my** house. Maybe if you had a piano in your house you'd know how to play too."_

_"I guess…" Sasuke wilted sadly. "I want one…" He then looked around the store, spotted a strange, orange-brown instrument hanging on the wall and pointed to it. "And that, too!" The man laughed at him again._

_"Well, one day you're going to be a **very** famous musician, I can tell!" the man said, ruffling Sasuke's hair again._

_Sasuke shrugged his shoulder, saying, "Okay, and you'll come to see me!" The man nodded. Sasuke then sighed and slapped his hands playfully on the man's hand again, as if ushering him to play some more, and so he did. "What's his name…?" the boy asked as the man began playing a tune._

_"Who? My son's?"_

_"Mmhmm."_

_"Oh…his name is—"_

_"Sasuke!"_

_Sasuke spun around and peeredover the man's arm. He beamed and saw his big brother standing in the doorway. "Itachi!" he yelled. "It's a pi-ano, Itachi! Look, it's a pi-ano!" He pointed at the instrument he sat in front of, gloating as he showed his brother. He shrank when Itachi started walking toward him, relief clearly written on his face. He knew he'd done something wrong._

_"Yes, Sasuke, it's piano! Sir, I'm so sorry that he bothered you," he finished, looking at the man apologetically. He ushered his brother over, and the boy moaned as Big Brother lifted him up and settled him on the floor._

_"Trust me, your little brother has been amusing me," the blond man responded kindly as the boy hopped over to his brother. _

_Itachi sighed. Sasuke began to pull on his pant leg, trying to bring him to the piano ("Come see it, Itachi! Come see it, please, please?"), and he ignored his brother, calling outside, "Dad, I found him!"_

_"Itachi!"_

_"Sasuke! How could you have—I was so worried!"_

_Big Brother stood from the piano bench. "Hello. Are you his parents?"_

_His mother reached him in five large strides, bent toward him and turned him painfully by his shoulder, giving him a sound slap in his rear, pinching his cheek viciously._

Sasuke blinked and stopped pacing. He could barely remember what happened after that, but all he knew was that as 'Big Brother' and his parents spoke, he'd ambled over to the piano again. He remembered that, climbing on to the seat, he had picked at the keys. He recalled pressing his fingers timidly on the piano and stopping when he saw his brother, mother, father, and the big brother all stare at him in shock.

After his parents found his ability to play, they'd made it possible for him to do so, even though they were of meager means. But about a year later, his father had gotten lucky and moved a few rungs up the corporate ladder. After that, they put in so many expenses for him to pursue music, with rigorous piano and violin lessons. But he came to really hate playing because they forced unreasonable goals and unethical means to make him a master. He stopped enjoying it after a while.

Even music became a chore for him. If he could meet that 'Big Brother' today, that man who'd simultaneously enriched and ruined his life, he wasn't sure if he would curse him or thank him.

But those sentiments changed very recently. It was Naruto who'd done that. Whether it was the blonde's passion for music or the blond himself, he'd caused a change in Sasuke. He couldn't even fully understand what he was so attracted to.

Was it Naruto? His gorgeous voice? His attractive, alien features?

Or was it Naruto's personality? The unwillingness to let his disadvantage hinder him? The way he felt music?

Or was it...was it merely because he saw in Naruto as of late a pain, similar to his own, one that had constricted him for years in his life? Was it then, because he saw that he and Naruto were similar?

He didn't know what it was… There was a strange, fascinating secrecy surrounding Naruto.

Perhaps _that _was it: the mystery. Sasuke naturally inclined to mystery because it was the one thing that he couldn't solve with mere numbers or explanations. It was abstract, incalculable. For him, the thrill laid in solving it. That was what he wanted with Naruto, and yet, not just that. He wanted Naruto's trust.

Sasuke grinned. He liked Naruto. Perhaps he should call for a delivery soon…

**-Silent Sonata-**

It was really difficult to engage himself this video game when so many things were keeping Naruto riled up. Three days from now he would be able to resume working at the restaurant, but he was somewhat apprehensive about his return. And then what happened with Sasuke the other day…

Really, Sasuke was very questionable. First of all, he was curious. Was Sasuke gay? He certainly had no problem with whom poeple expressed love to, but he was confused. Or was Sasuke just toying with him? The thought made him shiver, not from disgust, but from bad memories. He didn't want to be toyed with. He was accustomed to people lying to him, falsely raising his hopes, riling him up. It made him guarded, doubting their motives. Sasuke couldn't have been _serious_ in his admission.

Right?

Besides, Sasuke could have _anyone_. Literally. So why him? Why Naruto?

_Agh, I don't know!_ Naruto thought angrily, throwing down the game controller in his hand and flopping back on the couch. _Why me? Besides, he has a very, **very **bad way of showing it!_

It wasn't fair of Sasuke to say something like that. Sasuke couldn't spring a weighty thing like **_love_ **on Naruto. Naruto never had a girlfriend, so he was very honestly had very little experience in this area. Except for one, small, and rather insignificant incident, he'd been shunned and ignored in high school and Jiraiya didn't coach him in the area because he never asked. He sometimes read Jiraiya's books, but he was sure that that fiction was exaggerated. Kiba was no help, and his parents were gone by that time. So, to have someone admit their feelings to him was confusing, irritating, and terrifying. Yet, other emotions bubbled inside of him. Excitement, for one. Intrigue. Self-validating.

To a person like Naruto, who, for years, had been starved of normal, _regular_ affection, an admission like Sasuke's was enough to make him want to cleave himself to anyone who offered that kind of acknowledgement. It was why he adhered himself so quickly and closely to all of his new found friends. He wanted all he could get from them because he didn't know if he'd have it forever. They were _learning sign language!_

Speaking of which, the methods in which Sasuke had _told_ him that he liked him still confounded him. Sasuke used Sign language. Why? And how, when he'd never seen him use it before? Since _when_ did Sasuke know sign language? Had he been holding out on him?

_Augh, the jerk!_ Naruto grabbed the pillow at the corner of the couch and bit into it angrily.

His eyebrows shot up suddenly when the siren lights started going off, and he eagerly sat up, wondering quickly who it could be. It certainly wasn't Kiba. He went to the door and opened it, rearing his head back in surprise. _Shikamaru…?_

His pony-tailed workmate gave a faint wave and Naruto stared at him dumbly. "'Hey. I just came t'see how you were doin'…'" he started.

Naruto nodded and opened the door fully to allow Shikamaru inside. «How's…how's everything at the restaurant…» he asked as soon as the door was closed.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck, sighing as he tugged on his hair. "'Everything is…well, it's really busy. Good thing you're coming back soon…'"

«Well something's been eating at me from the other day,» Naruto started. He motioned quickly if Shikamaru wanted something to drink and the brunet declined graciously. He continued then. «I didn't steal _anything_. I don't know how that stuff got in my locker. But you were standing right there, Shikamaru. Why didn't you stand up for me…?»

Shikamaru clenched his jaws, dropping his eyes for a few moments before he went from scratching at his scalp to rubbing his eyes. "I really regret it now," he said mostly to himself. "'I dunno, Naruto. I really don't know why I didn't say anything. I guess that I was angry or something. I mean, we were already played by Mizuki, whom I really trusted and liked before he started doin' all his shit, ya'know? So I guess I thought, 'Hey, if he did it, why should I be too surprised.'"'

Naruto felt somewhat slighted by the statement, and the shock on his face could tell it all. «That hit me right in the ball sack…» he said with a pout.

"'Dude, I don't know what's going on either. I don't know what to say to the situation cuz I'm just as confused by it as you are!'"

«So why did you come here, then? To get a confession out of me? It's like you still don't believe me so you just want me to admit it! I won't admit to something I didn't do!»

"Na—" Shikamaru turned and rubbed his hands over his eyes viciously. _Shit._ "'Naruto, it's not like that!"

«Well then what? Why are you here? What's your purpose?» This was what Naruto was just fearing. Not all things could last. Was he looking at the end of his and Shikamaru's friendship right now? If Chouza had suspended so quickly, had he never been trusted in the first place?

Was this because he was a foreigner? Was it because he was deaf? Both?

"I wanna figure this out as much as you do!" Shikamaru yelled finally. "If somethin's wrong, would you tell me? I thought we were friends! That's why I'm trying to figure out what's goin' on! I'm worried!"

_Oh bull! _Naruto thought defensively, already putting up a wall against Shikamaru. He answered Shikamaru by ruffling his hair angrily and clenching his teeth. He did not need this. «Well friends don't just stand by and watch the other get fucked over like you did! _I _thought we were friends too! But right now, I want you to do me a favor. Get out.»

Shikamaru's jaw hung low at the statement. "For real, man?"

Naruto clicked his tongue in irritation and pointed at the door. When Shikamaru didn't react, he calmly walked to the door and opened it.

Shikamaru had no choice but to head toward the door. He'd never seen Naruto this angry before, but he supposed that he was the one that pushed Naruto to it. Turning around, he started, "Dude, man…I'm so—"

The door promptly shut in his face.

Naruto got into a fit and stomped his two feet on the floor angrily over and over again. He was enraged. He wanted to have a tantrum and start throwing things everywhere! He headed to his bedroom squarely, limbs straightened and stiff, and started changing his clothes, throwing them on the floor. Heading to his closet, he pulled out his running shoes, put them on, and took a t-shirt and running shorts.

He was so livid, he couldn't possibly sit still. He couldn't be in this apartment for another minute. He needed to clear his mind.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Iruka leaned forward in his seat, one ankle propped on the opposite knee, elbow positioned on his shin, and chin resting in an open palm. He'd come to love watching Naruto play the piano. He was so impressed by the blonde's growing skills that he couldn't help just watching him

Naruto had become more confident, to the point where he was taking on more difficult songs and playing them with such verve and gusto. He'd never seen someone play with so much expression. It was as if the piano was the voice that he couldn't use. It literally spoke to Iruka. He could tell the mood Naruto was in by the way he would play.

Take now, for example. Naruto was clipping notes slightly, but it worked because of the intensity of the piece. He was slamming the keys that should have been softer, and still, it worked. He took the song and made it his own. And by the way he played, Iruka could feel Naruto's anger and frustration.

He wouldn't lie, though. It was just…nothing short of beautiful. When was it that Naruto would be publicized. He felt horribly selfish for being one of the very few who knew of Naruto's talents. He wanted Naruto to have a recital, but it was far too early for that. Naruto wasn't ready for that yet, but Naruto desperately needed exposure. What could he possibly do...?

He suddenly slapped his fist into his open palm.

He nearly danced in his seat at the thought of it. Instead, he patiently waited until the blond was finished. God, was he a fire cracker! Naruto just couldn't sit still in his seat! He had to shift, move over, crouch, bend. He danced on the piano.

Naruto sat back, close to finishing.

_Ah that felt so good! I feel like I just murdered someone_! It was so, so, so very satisfying. Running had helped him a lot yesterday. It was very mindless. All he thought was, 'I'll make it to that corner and stop!' But every time he would make the corner, he didn't stop and he just turned and made another lap around the park. His lungs hurt and his knees hurt and his back ached, but he really couldn't stop running. He didn't stop running until the sun had gone down. It felt good. And so did playing just now.

_Maybe I'll run again today after classes. _Still, he'd needed to vent. What he just played was much better than just running. Running numbed him, made him forget what was going on, but when he was done running, everything would rush back into his mind. What better way to vent than to abuse something that couldn't hurt him in return?

He pounded on the last two chords, sat straight, and dropped his hands into his laps, heaving a huge sigh. Ah, Maurice Ravel truly made a golden piece with his _Miroirs_. It really spoke to him_._ He then turned to Iruka, who was clapping shamelessly for him. He puffed his cheeks at the professor and rolled his eyes. «How was that, _maestro_?» he asked with a grin.

"'It was so great!'" Iruka said, hands gesturing wildly. "Your improvement is so stellar! While you were playing, I thought of something really great! Because you don't get a recital until the end of your first year, I actually wanted to propose something to you."

Naruto's eyebrows buckled, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Well, the Music Department has been trying to figure out ways to get the students more involved in generating interest in classical music among children in public schools. We're trying to gather some of our best and most willing music students, form a chamber orchestra, and start going to different schools around the country at the end of this semester. It's something that would look very good on your resume if you happen to be one of those students picked."

_Hmm. That actually sounds nice…_Naruto thought._  
_

"'Does that sound like something you would be interested in?'" Iruka asked slowly.

Naruto nodded excitedly. «There's even a school that I would love to visit in particular.»

"Well then, this might be convenient!" Iruka said, clapping the blond on the shoulder. "I think that this is going to be very concrete, and hopefully we can gather everyone up before midterms. That'll only be another two or three weeks from now."

_Ah, really exciting!_ Naruto thought. A chamber orchestra? _Him_? That was insane. Oh, he was so excited.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Sasuke passed his hand over his eyes tiredly, tapping the bow of his violin listlessly and rhythmically on his forehead. He hadn't had the galls _yesterday_ to call for a delivery, but he was determined to see Naruto. So he was waiting for Naruto now. He felt terribly, unbelievably wily. He'd called in about half an hour ago and was waiting for his delivery to come. He _was_ a little hungry for Akamichiraku's.

But honestly…

He'd had an ulterior motive. His main goal was to see Naruto. So Naruto would be here soon.

He suddenly became flustered. He'd made the order on a whim, but didn't think about what would happen when Naruto got here. What would he say? He sat on his couch. He hadn't even prepared for that!

Since when was Uchiha Sasuke at loss for what to say? This was terribly new to him.

The bell rang and he jolted straight, looking over at his clock on the wall. "Shit!" he whispered loudly. He wasn't ready! He paced the room nervously for a few seconds but then the bell rang again, followed quickly by knocking. Left without much choice, Sasuke rushed to the door, fixing his hair and tucking in his shirt, smoothing some wrinkles over.

Why was he cleaning himself...?

When he reached the door, he cleared his throat, and donned an indifferent façade, letting out a long breath as he unlocked the hinges. Upon opening the door, however, and _not _seeing the face that he'd been impatiently awaiting, his features fell and his breath hitched.

"Did you just find out that Santa Clause doesn't exist…?"

Sasuke felt sick.

"Um. Delivery."

The raven curled his lip in distaste, terribly confused. Naruto was the delivery boy, wasn't he? "Where's…Na…you…"

Shikamaru craned his head forward, eyebrows pushing up and eyes squinting as he tried to understand the Uchiha. He gave up (as did Sasuke, clearing his throat) and held the delivery box up in the raven's face. "Dude, I need t'unload. This box is crazy heavy," he mumbled.

Sasuke turned around and allowed Shikamaru entry, walking to the kitchen with the brunet in tow. He scrunched his face and shut his eyes, deciding on his words, and thankful that the brunet couldn't see the conflict on his face. "Ah, where's the loser?" he asked passively, voice collected and cool. _Loser? That one's new_… he thought to himself. How did he tack that one on? Whatever; it worked.

"Eh, it's a breech of customer/employee confidentiality if I tell ya," Shikamaru answered, plopping the delivery box on the countertop when he reached it.

"He got his ass fired," Sasuke assumed, shaking his head expectantly.

"And shouldn't y'know anyway?" Shikamaru answered as he emptied the box, blowing a bubble with his orange gum. "Don't you help him at school?"

"I've been sick, so…" Sasuke lied.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, he ain't fired. Got suspended."

_What? Are we talking about the same Naruto? _Sure, Naruto was a bit reckless, but he didn't peg the blond for someone to get himself suspended. "Ah, right," Sasuke responded quickly, acting like he knew the situation. "Didn't know it'd be this long."

"So he told ya?" Shikamaru asked as he shut the delivery box and propped his arm on it.

"Y—yeah." Lies.

"I think the boss overreacted. To be honest, I really don't think Naruto did anything."

_Did what? _Sasuke wondered. Coolly, he replied, "Eh. Nothing he does surprises me. He's capable of anything." A backhanded compliment.

Shikamaru nearly hit the box from the counter when his arm faltered on him. "Even to steal?" he shrieked. "Do you think he did it, then?"

"Steal?" Sasuke echoed and then composed himself again, clearing his throat.

Shikamaru suddenly glared at him. "You didn't know what the hell was going on, _did_ you?" he asked in a dead panned, accusing voice. Sasuke didn't respond. Shikamaru sight and shook his head. "Yeah, well, now you know."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"I really can't let ya in on all the detail," Shikamaru sighed. "But basically customers' things went missin' and the boss found them in Naruto's locker."

Wow.

"I personally don't think that Naruto did it. It's just that there was someone who worked there just a couple months ago that was stealing from us, so it wasn't anythin' new, ya know? Sort of made me suspicious."

"Hn."

"Yeah. Maybe someone's trying to frame Naruto. I dunno." The room was silenced for a few seconds before Shikamaru drummed his knuckles on the metal box and grabbed it up, heaving another sigh. "Well anyway, he'll be back the day after tomorrow. Hopefully we get t'the bottom of this soon."

Sasuke bobbled his head a couple of times and then reached into his pocket, pulling out the money for Shikamaru. "Keep me posted."

"Naruto isn't going to?" The brunet asked, taking the money.

"No, he won't."

"Aw. Is Romeo looking out for Juliet?" The brunet asked, grinning at Sasuke.

Sasuke thinned his eyes at the brunet and grumbled at him. "Shut up," he hissed. "You can go now. And leave the door open."

Shikamaru sucked his teeth as he nodded. "Right. I'll take that as a yes," he said, seeing himself out.

Sasuke pulled out a pair of chopsticks from his drawer, opening one of the delivery containers. "Stealing…?" he said aloud, reaching for the noodles. _Naruto…?_

Please! Naruto couldn't steal, let alone get away with it.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Jogging _had_ been great to him the past couple of days. He was enjoying it much more than—dare he say it—playing the piano. Only because it was mindless! Why had he stopped running again? He was starting to remember how much he loved it.

_Maybe I should start doing this more often, _he thought. And why not? He'd get back in shape. Maybe every morning before it got too hot. Or in the evening after sundown when it was cool. He should probably talk to Shikamaru. He'd definitely overreacted to the brunet. He was acting so defensively, but he didn't think to put himself in Shikamaru's shoes. H also needed to figure out what was really going on!

First of all, someone knew his locker combo. How was that even possible, when he was usually in the room by himself whenever he changed? But he _was_ stupid enough to leave the lock unlocked from time to time. Maybe he'd left his lock unlocked and someone had planted that bag in it when he was either gone or working in the restaurant. _Had _he left it unlocked that day…? He didn't even _remember._

Secondly, whoever made that call and told Chouji what he supposedly saw_ was_ _lying!_ Maybe _they _were the culprit. Or maybe they just saw sighed as he rounded the corner and promptly collided into a literal wall of muscle. He gave a quiet 'Oof!' and then rubbed his face, signing a quick apology to the tall, brunet man as he painfully got back on his feet to resume jogging. What he didn't expect, however, was when _Mizuki_ peeked from behind the tall, muscled man, giving a bold and overly friendly wave to the blond. _"Naruto!"_

_Ugh, **him **again? _Naruto thought as he gave the bleached blond a short, uninterested wave.

What stopped him was the tall guy. He wouldn't move. Neither did Mizuki. They didn't move, and effectively stood in Naruto's way.

When Naruto shifted to walk around them, Mizuki halted him, putting his hand on the blonde's shoulder. He immediately shimmied the guy's hand off.

"How's _work?_" Mizuki asked the blond with a strange grin.

Naruto thinned his eyes at Mizuki. _And that's your business because…? _He decided to humor the guy, answering by giving a so-so motion with his hand. His eyes shifted to the tall guy when he moved closer to him.

"I haven't seen you there lately…" the bleached blond started dumbly, scratching at is sideburn. "I guess Chouza didn't like the present that was in your locker?"

Naruto's jaw dropped. Instinct was on overdrive, _way_ ahead of reason, and Naruto reached forward quickly and twisted his hands into the Mizuki's shirt and pushed him into the fence. Mizuki was annoyingly calm, if not _humored_, and said simply, "Juugo. Please?"

Juugo sighed and then clasped a hand around Naruto's wrist, squeezing tightly. The blond hissed and let go, still glaring at Mizuki, but Juugo didn't let go of his wrist.

"Trust is a really funny thing, eh, buddy?" Mizuki asked, nodding in answer to his own question.

_And what point are you getting at, you self imposed albino? _Naruto thought angrily. He then looked at his wrist and then glared up at Juugo. He tugged his arm from Juugo and hissed at him.

"All I'm saying…" Mizuki started, grinning at Naruto, "is…" he paused dramatically, and then his face lit up like he'd just remembered something wonderfully cruel. "Oh wait, you won't hear me anyway!" he exclaimed.

Once again, Naruto used his instinct before his reasoning. He couldn't help his other hand from flying towards Mizuki's face, fingers curled in a perfect fist, but it never did quite make its mark because the _tall guy_ literally turned the proverbial tables quickly and Naruto found himself backed into the same fence that he'd pushed Mizuki into.

"I shouldn't joke around," Mizuki started, tilting his head. "Now, I am giving you the ultimatum. I offered you something. You can accept it, or you can watch your back." He reached forward and slapped the blond on his cheek gently.

Naruto would have swatted his hand away, but with his back against the wall right now, reason had finally caught up with him and told him that retaliation was really not his best option. The tall guy could probably snap him in half if he really wanted to. He opted, instead, to twist his head away.

Mizuki took a step back, as did Juugo, and stuck his hand stiffly in the air in an odd wave. "I'll be seeing you around, buddy!"

They were walking away, and all Naruto could do was stand there, staring at them, unsure of what to do. He wanted to scream, to curse loudly or stomp his feet on the ground. But fear froze him where he stood.

If Mizuki knew he jogged in this park, did that also mean he knew where he lived?

How serious was this situation becoming? Should he report this?

He needed to get home.

He turned around and ran back home as quickly as he could, taking the stairs by twos when he got in the building, and pulled out his key nervously before reaching the door so that all he had to do was jam the thing in the keyhole, twist, enter, and lock it behind him.

Akamaru didn't greet him at the door, meaning that Kiba wasn't home, which was fine because—fuck!—he didn't want to talk right now!

So, was Mizuki trying to frame him? This wasn't a joke! He ruffled his hair as he walked toward the bathroom, shedding his shirt and throwing it lazily onto the floor, doing the same, again, with the rest of his clothing as he headed toward his bathroom. Damn, he just wanted to take a shower right now.

He turned on the water and ran it, throwing his fingers under the spray until it felt right before jumping in.

Had Mizuki been threatening him? Is that what it was? Was it some form of stalking that that guy was doing? How did he know he'd be at the park? This was insane! He soaped up quickly, rinsed, and stepped out, barely drying himself off as he walked to his bedroom. As soon as he started throwing clothes on, though, the red lights started blinking.

_Why is Kiba using the bell? _He wondered, rolling his eyes as he walked toward the door. He paused mid-step, fiddling with his hands. Kiba wouldn't _use _the bell. So how was this? Heart dropping and burning in his stomach, he slicked his wet hair back nervously.

He looked tentatively into the peep hole and then stepped back. _Sasuke?_ _Why is he here? _He unlocked the door and opened it, and the raven just stood there. Naruto squinted his eyes suspiciously at him, and then tilted his head.

The raven looked at Naruto uneasily, eyes roaming the apartment quickly. "Are you alone?" he asked. _Be alone_.

Naruto gave the raven a nod, thinning his eyes in suspicion as he barricaded the door with his body.

"Let me in," Sasuke responded, taking a step forward and pushing the door open even as Naruto tried to keep him out. He turned around when the door closed behind him, staring at Naruto. _He just got out the shower…_

Naruto scratched at his scalp, unaware that when his fingers left his wet hair, it left the locks sticking up at stranger angles than usual. _Why is he here…?_ he wondered, continuing to glare at Sasuke.

Sasuke averted his eyes from the huffing blond. His cheeks felt hot.

Naruto gasped loudly and then waved his hand at Sasuke obnoxiously to get his attention. The raven glared at him, and Naruto pointed to his cheeks accusingly.

"What!" Sasuke groused.

_Oh my god, _Naruto thought. Sasuke was blushing! Shaking the thought and the strange image from his mind, his hands started moving slowly. «You can understand me a little…?» he asked.

The raven glanced quickly at Naruto's hands and then looked at him pointedly. "Yes," he answered.

«Why?»

"Photographic memory," Sasuke answered.

_Oh, not fair!_ Naruto thought childishly. «Then why haven't you used it? Sign Language?» Naruto asked.

Sasuke sighed at him. "I told you before, and I meant it," he finished with a hiss, impatience with Naruto a very regular feature in this relationship.

«What?» Naruto asked. He knew he shouldn't, though. He shouldn't push Sasuke. Of course he remembered what Sasuke said the other day. But it was difficult for him to wrap his finger around it. It was difficult for him to find it true. Because someone had said to him years ago:

_"You should just stop talking. It's sort of painful to hear you talk."_

He'd convinced himself that everyone felt that way.

Sasuke took a step toward him, fingers weaving into his hair unsurely. "You're afraid to use your voice, and I happen to like it."

"Das—das non'of y'bu'ness!" Naruto groused defensively. Sasuke just stared at him knowingly, and the blond _did _smack himself in the face multiple times. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Then why did you _just_ talk to me?" Sasuke asked.

"So pers'stent…" Naruto mumbled to himself.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He _was _cute. The blond didn't even realize how much he dropped his guard around him. "Is it so _bad_?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes!" Naruto answered. "You'selfish! I…don' _wanna_ tal'!"

"Well it happens to be the one thing that you can't help at this point!" Sasuke hissed. "No matter how much you're trying not to talk, the fact that you _are_ talking shows how much you can't stop it!"

"'n i's _y_'fault!" Naruto retorted, pointing at Sasuke accusingly.

"And it's _that_ bad?" Sasuke repeated angrily.

"Y-yes!" Naruto answered unreasonably. It was a lie. He…he _wanted_ to talk. For a long time. When he'd first gone deaf, he didn't want to stop talking because it kept him connected. But the less he was able to hear himself, the more mistakes he began to make. Even though he suffered from post-lingual deafness, his speech pattern changed drastically when he'd gone deaf.

His classmates laughed at him for it. People had insensitively laughed at him for it.

"So why do you talk around me?" Sasuke roared. "I'm the _only_ one you've spoken to directly! Why me?"

Naruto ruffled his hair angrily, squealing out a childish whine as a retort. He then stomped his feet lightly and shook his body slackly, turning back to look over at Sasuke with hooded, tired eyes, unable to respond.

"I'll _tell_ you why—" Sasuke supplied as he stalked toward Naruto purposefully. He stood over him confrontationally, speaking the next words with malice. "You're _comfortable_ around me."

The look on Naruto's face would have otherwise been so humorous—weakly hidden disagreement, pure abashment. But the last thing he expected was what Naruto next said. "Getta g'ip, Sass'ge! Nod' ev'rthins 'bout you!"

What was this aggression…?

Naruto shook his head shamefully at the raven. "In th'end, you jus' starved f'r th'ttention!I bet that's all y'eve had! When've _you **eve' **_had to fight f'r some_—Hungh!"_

Naruto's back slammed against his door and he went stiff instantly. Sasuke was grabbing him painfully by both shoulders, pressing him against the door.

The raven was shaking so much, and Naruto had never seen his face so red before, or his eyes so—so glassy and alive. Staring down at Naruto, the desire to hit him so strong, but only able to push him against the door again forcefully, the raven bared his teeth.

"Don't," Sasuke said through clenched teeth, eyebrows curling up, first from desperation and then from a bitter sting. He shook his head, closing his eyes for a second and hissing through his teeth before avoiding Naruto's eyes. He pushed the blond again, suddenly bubbling with so much anger as Naruto's words played over and over in his mind. "_Don't_…" he stressed again, voice shaking, "assume you know everything about me. You hear me?"

Naruto didn't know why, but he for a fleeting moment, he grinned, which he replaced by a face of indifference.

"I literally bled." Teeth clenched. It was hard for Naruto to read what Sasuke was saying. "I've _fucking **bled**_—" Back slamming against the door again, but without conviction. "To be where I am right now. You wouldn't ever know."

Naruto didn't react, and Sasuke pulled away from him quickly, suddenly feeling stifled by a heat that was pouring out of him. He gripped his hair angrily and then suddenly thrust a packed, heavy fist toward the blond, missing the tanned face by a mere two inches and hitting the wall instead.

Naruto looked sideways from the fist to the raven's face, stunned that he saw—not Sasuke anger—a deep hurt. And then something clicked in his mind, like some sort of understanding. He nodded discreetly and then said, "Oh…"

_Oh? **Oh**_**? **Sasuke thought, breathing out deeply. _That's all he can fucking say?_

"So you…hum'n," Naruto continued after a pause.

_What? Naruto is seriously fucked up if he's joking about this!_ Sasuke thinned his eyes at him.

"'You c'n be hum'n, Sass'ge" the blond finished with difficulty. He then scratched the back of his head, quirking his lip angrily. "I fee' bad," he mumbled, breaking eye contact from Sasuke. He looked down scratching at his knee listlessly.

Sasuke was speechless.

"Why is't you lig'my voice s'much, 'nyway?" The blond asked suddenly. "'prolly sounds...sick. 's gotta be 'noyin'. 'n…I'm 'prolly lispin' 'lot n'—"

His back met with the door again.

And Sasuke was looking at him very strangely, holding his shoulders very tightly.

Naruto blinked up at him. Why was he so close? "Wh…what?" he asked breathlessly.

Sasuke puffed out a chuckle, shaking his head, and grinned quickly. "Don't ask me what, you stupid loser," he said. "You _like _talking."

"Wuh—Noh!" Naruto retorted weakly. "Y'don' sign!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. _Yeah, right._ "Do me a favour."

Naruto was beyond flabbergasted. Sasuke was too close! It was like he was going to—

_He's going to **kiss** me, isn't he?_

"Wh…what?" Naruto asked. The closer Sasuke moved to him, the stronger a smell of wafted through his nose.

"I want you to stop talking now."

"Hu—" Sasuke _tasted _like miso soup, too. And it would be a lie to say that the reason Naruto didn't pull back was that he liked the taste.

Later, Naruto would say that it was the heat of the moment. Hormones going wild. Sasuke pulled away before Naruto could do anything, and Naruto was surprised to find himself lingering after the brief contact, breathing heavily. He didn't know why. He looked up at the raven slowly, shimmied his shoulders so that Sasuke's grip was loosened, and placed his hand against his forehead for a moment.

Sasuke quirked his brow, his expression melting to surprise when Naruto made a fist and pressed it lightly to the raven's chest. He didn't understand. A few seconds passed, and Sasuke took the action as permission. He leaned forward, and Naruto did as well.

_ Why not? _Naruto thought with a mental shrug. Sasuke pulled away from his mouth and dipped his nose downward, grazing it against Naruto's neck. He took a long, hard inhale through his nose, taking in that post-shower scent strongly. He wondered brazenly if maybe Naruto tasted as good as he smelled.

He reached his hand down from Naruto's shoulder to his arm, and then transferred the appendage to Naruto's side, and the blond effectively halted him, pulling back slightly and bending forward, hands pressed against the raven's torso. "Sass'ge…"

Sasuke understood immediately, but he didn't want to pull away so he lingered selfishly, still breathing deeply against Naruto's neck.

"_Sass_'ge..."

Like a switched was flipped, Sasuke stood straight and took a step back. He shook his head. "I'm sor—"

"'s'okay…" Naruto said breathlessly, hands waving to find a word.

It was quiet for a moment before the two spoke in unison. One said "I should go," and the other, "Giba'll be here soon…"

Sasuke nodded simply, opening the door beside Naruto. He stepped away from Naruto and raised his hand to the blonde's head. He the pointed two finger at the blond and pressed them on Naruto's forehead. Naruto tilted his head, and the raven wordlessly put his hand in his pocket, stepped out, and closed the door behind him.

Naruto leaned forward, weak, forehead pressed against the door. _What the fuck is going on…? _He touched his lips, pulling his fingers away as if stung. He'd kissed Sasuke. Again.

_Do I like Sasuke…?_ he thought, pulling his head from the door slightly before letting it hit the door. _What the hell is going on right now?_

**.**

**.o.**

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**(1) "That Big Brother's a foreigner!"** Often, little children will call strangers or older people "Onii-san/Onee-san" in Japan, in essence calling them "Big Brother or "Big Sister". Please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but this is something that I have observed consistently in manga, anime, and dramas. Also, you might think it strange that the person in the store didn't act in more alarm that there was a little boy alone in his store, but it is quite common in Japan to have children moseying about by themselves.

**Comment: **Before someone says to me that it's not possible for someone who knew how to speak before going deaf to have difficulty speaking _after_ having gone deaf, this is a big misconception. One of my friends (much younger than me) was born mostly deaf. She had surgery where tubes where put into her ears, which gave her the ability to hear nearly 100 percent. She can hear now, but her hearing is deteriorating rapidly in the past couple of years. When I first met her about 5 years ago, her 's' sounded like an 's'. But as the years have passed, and with her hearing deteriorating, she told me that it's strange for her to make sounds that are more difficult for her to hear. For example, she cannot make an 's' sound anymore. The combination of 't' and 'r' (like 'track) has become difficult for to pronounce. Just goes to show that people can't assume that someone who has gone deaf in their adulthood/post-pubescence (this is an age generalization) has full motorization of his or her speech.

By the way, has anyone here watched the JDrama 'Orange Days'? It's actually a drama that about deafness and music. If any of you like dramas or you want to start getting into them, I suggest mysoju**DOT**com. They host the drama there, and it's very uplifting.


	18. Part III: Perhaps Addicting

**Comment**: I am especially fond of one of my reviewers named Sake-Chama. Her kind attention to me has been very encouraging. Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Perhaps Addicting  
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**.o.**

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Neji, just like Sakura, had a little gift of foresight, of seeing things before they came to fruition. He really didn't know how he and Hinata were such good people-readers. He could peer beneath or past a surface and see things about people that maybe they didn't know themselves. So, when Naruto walked into the classroom and sat furtively in his seat, the long-haired raven could almost feel the difference in the air that the blond vibrated from his body.

Naruto waved at him (which he calmly returned), and then he turned to Hinata and gave her a wave. But he turned to Sasuke and quickly, stiffly waved at him. Sasuke simply gave Naruto a nod . It wasn't malicious or dismissive, just…odd.

Naruto then scratched at the nape of his neck in what Neji could tell was anxiety. He could feel the blonde's uneasiness when none of the four started a conversation, so Neji nudged Naruto and asked him, "'Did you work on the research essay this weekend at all?'"

«Research essay…?» Naruto asked in curiosity. It was then that he remembered that Ibiki had given them an assignment for almost two weeks now. Naruto smacked his face. _Aaaagh I totally forgot…_ he thought. He then shook his head miserably at Neji.

"Oh dear," Hinata murmured, clearing her throat. "'It's okay, though," she gestured, "It's not due until the end of the semester, but I've heard from people that it's very difficult to find some research depending on which music period you write about." She then turned to Sasuke. "W-what did you w...w-write about when you took this class, Sasuke?"

Sasuke, with his chin resting on his fist, didn't hear her speak. His mind was rapt on other things, namely the one sitting just another seat away from him. After the other night, he'd been distracted with intermittent thoughts of Naruto. If he was playing the viola, he suddenly thought about Naruto; if he played the piano, he thought about Naruto; at his own class, he would stop paying attention to his professors to think about Naruto.

Turthfully, when he'd gotten home that night from visiting Naruto, he sat on his couch mindlessly. He hadn't known what to do. That was the farthest thing from a first kiss that he'd given or received, but…he was feeling something stir within him. From just touching Naruto, it made his throat pinch. He was unaccustomed to such strong feelings.

After a few moments of sitting on the couch, he'd resolutely stood up in frustration and did the only thing he _could _think of doing. He'd grabbed his viola, leaned against his piano, and gave a short pause as he raised the bow to meet the strings. It had been ages since he'd actually had the _desire _to pick up his favoured instrument and just play.

_Play. _A funny word, really. It indicated that there was some joy involved, and that was something he'd thought was sucked out of music for him. But that night, the sentiment he'd felt while playing had been rather welcome. He didn't reject it. Perhaps because it made him think of how maybe he _didn't _hate music as much as he'd thought. Maybe it had just been lost to him for a while. And something made him find it again.

So, now, seeing the expressions change on Naruto's face—confusion, frustration, a quick moment of childish despair—how could someone show so many different emotions in the span of a few seconds? How could someone reveal everything he or she felt in so few moments? He couldn't stop staring at Naruto in amazement, feeling an ounce of jealousy at his emotional freedom.

His thoughts suddenly came to a halt when he heard a loud clap near his ear, and it made him wince. He turned to find that Naruto had snapped his fingers right by his ear.

"S…Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

Neji quirked his brow.

Sasuke, hearing his name, glanced at Hinata, lifting his brows. "Hnh?" he asked a second later. He was obviously distracted.

"I-I wanted to know which era you w-wrote about for _your_ r...r-research essay when you took this class," Hinata repeated.

It took a couple of seconds for the question to register in his mind, and, squinting in thought, he remembered. "The Baroque period."

"Oh," Hinata said thoughtfully. "W-was it hard?" she asked.

"Finding research was," Sasuke answered, pulling out his laptop as Ibiki walked in and settled his things on his desk. Hinata and Neji no longer wrote notes for Naruto unless Sasuke wasn't in attendance.

"'S-See, Naruto?'" Hinata asked. "'That's the s-same one _you_ ch-chose, right?'"

Naruto nodded, glancing at Sasuke.

Neji thinned his pale grey eyes ever-so slightly and then said, "So if you have problems with it, you should just ask Sasuke for help with the books that he used for research."

Naruto paused shortly, seeming to mull over the statement, but nodded a moment later.

"Alright, class!" Ibiki yelled from the front.

**.o.**

At the end of the lecture, Naruto took the small jump-drive that Sasuke handed him, and gave a nod of appreciation. The four of them made their way to the student café, as seemed to be their regiment now. Neji decided to trail behind the three slightly to confirm a suspicion he had. However, nothing interesting happened.

Lee, who wasn't around the last couple of weeks, waved at the four of them excitedly when they entered the café, beckoning them to come over. Neji rolled his eyes—it wasn't as if they were going to sit at some _other _table! _Gosh, the guy is such a nerd, really_.

"Hi, L-Lee!" Hinata said with a wave as she got to the table. "I-It's been a while."

"Oh, I was just fine," Lee said, grinning. "I just had a few championships in other cities."

"Oh really?" Hinata asked.

Sakura snapped to attention at hearing the words. "Oh Lord," Sakura mumbled, rolling her eyes as she slumped her shoulders. "And now he's going to—"

"Look at all of my medals!" Lee jumped, pulling from under his shirt a slew of medal necklaces. Sakura groaned. _Why_ he even had them _on _him, she didn't know.

"Th-that's alright, Lee," Hinata dismissed quietly, which Ino snorted at. "I n-need to get something to e-eat," she said.

"Wise move," Ino said, flinching humorously when Lee turned to her with a slighted expression.

When they were all situated at the table and began eating, they talked mostly of nothing—new movies coming out, an art gallery that Sakura and Ino were going to visit. "'Hey, hey! Do you guys wanna all come?'" Sakura asked. "'It's going to be really interesting! It's going to have a vogue-ing fashion walk and weird installations and some things that are even going to be interactive! It's very contemporary!'"

Naruto, sitting between Sasuke and Ino, slurped away at his jjajengmeon messily, and while turning to catch a little of what Sakura was saying when she waved her hand at him, jostled the drink by his other hand, and the contents of it spilled. He quickly went to pick up the can, the juice of which spread to the edge of the table so quickly that Sasuke didn't have the speed to pull away before it spilled on his pants.

Oh dear.

Thinking back on it, Naruto had terribly good control of himself for a good three years. He kept himself in check and was rather well reserved to people around him. But in his mentally relaxed state in the past few days, his mind acted before he could think to stop himself. Turning to Sasuke with wide eyes, he let out, "Shorry!"

A quiet fell over the table, and everyone paused, wondering if what they'd just heard really came from whom they thought it did. Then Naruto became pale, sudden sickness making him cradle his stomach. Eyes blinking slowly as if he were teetering between consciousness and a dull haze, he swayed for a moment before dropping his head, reaching a shaking hand to the napkins so that he could clean the liquid. He didn't want to see them.

Why did it feel like the whole world was suddenly watching him, like some horrible sitcom, and he'd finally made the one mistake that_ everyone_ was waiting to see? He couldn't stand to look at them. So _stop looking and talk about something and get distracted by something but don't look at me. Please stop looking at me. Don't look, please, don't look, don't look, don't lookdon'tlookdon'tlook._

He couldn't think. He didn't want to see them laughing at him. He didn't want to look up, because he could feel pressure building behind his eyes and his throat constricting.

He was pulled back into reality when Sasuke pushed his hand away a little gently and grabbed some napkins himself, patting his legs. His eyes flitted up unsurely at the raven.

Hinata was covering her mouth in evident shock, but the loud female sitting at the table reached over and slapped Naruto in the arm, grinning at him. "'I didn't know you speak, you sly dog!'" Ino said, breaking the silence.

Naruto shook his head viciously (and why were the _not _laughing?).

"But didn't you just—"

"For some reason, he refuses to speak," Sasuke said suddenly, everyone turning to him. Naruto turned to him instinctively, even though he didn't know what he'd just said, eyebrows raised and quietly pleading for the raven to _not talk _about the fact that he talked.

"'You don't sound surprised,'" Sakura said slowly, and Sasuke shook his head, mumbling a, 'I'm not.'.

Ino gasped. "You've been holding out on us, Naruto?" she asked in shock after nudging him to attention again. "Why, why? I'd wondered if perhaps you were mute!"

He could feel it. Degradation was soon to grab him by his ankles and pull him into the earth chest deep. Soon, even the people who would defend his effort to speak, these people whom he'd come to trust would eventually get annoyed and impatient with him and talk to him less and eventually make fun of him and play terrible pranks on him and hurt him and— He stopped the stream of thoughts at seeing Sasuke's lips move slowly. Whatever he said next, would it hurt?

Sasuke, seeing Naruto's expression change from shock and melt into fear, continued, "Thing is, he doesn't realize that he sounds okay."

Many wondered, what was it like to have the ability to catch only a few words of a phrase, connect them, and fill in the other words that he couldn't catch? That was how Naruto lived his life every day when someone spoke to him and he had to read their lips. He had to fill in gaps.

It took less than a second for Sasuke's broken sentence to process into what Naruto _assumed _was actually being said.

So the sentence, originally 'Thing…doesn't realize…sounds okay…' repeated itself, in whole, in his mind as: _Thing is, he doesn't realize that he sounds okay_. That_ was _a compliment, right? Naruto couldn't help but stare, befuddled somewhat by the comment.

"Anyone who says anything otherwise is just saying it to be an ass," Sasuke continued. "So maybe he should talk from time to time."

Sakura cleared her throat when Naruto squinted at the raven. "'Well _I _think that Naruto should just do whatever is comfortable to him,'" she said, trying to ease the situation lest it escalate into an argument. And since _when_ did Sasuke give people compliments? He usually gave reserved, silent acknowledgements. Setting the thought aside for a moment, she continued. "'Some people have their reservations for reasons that are not _other _people's business.'"

«If that's the case, maybe I'll start to talk when _you_ actually start signing when other people are around!» Naruto answered smugly, knowing that Sasuke would never rise to that challenge. He knew Sasuke enough to know that he was a proud person.

As for Sasuke, he liked his well kept secrets. Sometimes, he liked to know that when he had something, it was his alone. So, the fact that Naruto, as far as he _knew _it, only spoke to him when no one else was around made him feel somewhat selfish and exclusive. Maybe he didn't want to share.

Despite that, Sasuke reserved the childish sentiment, knowing it to be a hindrance to Naruto. "'I have no problem signing,'" the raven answered, signing to Naruto with a grin. _This is Naruto. He likes challenges. He'll take the bait. _"'So will you talk?'"

Naruto paused to wonder why Sasuke was making an issue of this. He wouldn't let this die! _Oh, he's testing me! _Naruto thought, curling his lip. He grinned and pressed his thumb and index finger to the corner of his lips, sliding them across until they reached the other corner.

"Sasuke, you _sign?_" Lee asked, wide-eyed.

"Don't you think it rude that you didn't sign earlier?" Neji said suddenly, offended for Naruto.

Choosing to ignore Neji, who was just being a fire-starter, Sasuke lifted a brow and said to Naruto, and then he made a statement to Naruto that only the blond would really comprehend. "'I don't back away from a challenge. You've let your past paralyze you.'" Naruto raised his brows at the last sentence.

"_Sasuke_!" Sakura said in abashment. Sure, Sasuke could be cold, but this was a bitmuch! He was bordering on harassing Naruto! She paused, though, when she saw the Uchiha grin and quirk his eyebrow before quickly concealing the action under a stoic pretense.

She didn't know why, but all too suddenly, she recalled the conversation that she and Sasuke had that one time in the library. It was the conversation in which Sasuke had unwaveringly assured her that he had no feelings for Naruto. Who was he _joking_? Sasuke didn't waste his time bothering someone that he felt nothing for. Besides, he'd just complimented Naruto before! And he didn't _banter_ with just anyone. If someone annoyed him, he ignored them, but Naruto Naruto. He _was _teasing Naruto!

And Naruto wasn't exactly exploding in anger or getting overly offended.

_Oh my goodness, _Sakura thought suddenly, eyes going wide. The subject of the conversation was quickly dismissed. She pinched her lip in thought and blinked first at Naruto and then at Sasuke.

They were _flirting_ with each other!

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto rubbed his face anxiously as he walked to the restaurant. It was his first day back on the job after his suspension. He wanted to tell Chouza about what'd happened in the park with Mizuki. But how hard would it be to win back Chouza's trust, even though he was innocent? Not only Chouza, but everyone else, as well. He paused quickly when Chouji stared at him as he walked into the restaurant. He took a deep breath, almost prepared to be sneered at.

Chouji grinned at Naruto and gave him a wave, and Naruto, eased somewhat by the warming gesture, smiled back at him and waved enthusiastically, walking over to him.

"Welcome back, Naruto!" Chouji said, slapping Naruto soundly on his shoulder. Naruto punched him jokingly, emotions whirling inside. _Okay, **Chouji** doesn't hate me!_

«I'm really glad to be back!» Naruto said. «How were things for the past few days?»

«Everything's pretty much the same,» Chouji responded with wide gestures. "Naruto, you're cleared!"

_Whaaaaat? _Naruto's dubious face made Chouji chuckle, and he walked to the side since it was at slow peek business. _I'm clear?_ «Well what happened?»

"You remember that chick you'd bumped into the day that you were kicked out?" Chouji started, and Naruto, thinking hard for a slight moment, gave him an enthusiastic nod when he recalled her brightly colored hair and thick glasses. "Well, we caught her hanging around here yesterday. Ten-Ten thought she was in the bathroom for too long, so she went to check on her. Instead, she found her in the changing room, at _your _locker. When Ten-Ten confronted her, she 'fessed up!"

«No way!» Naruto said in shock.

Chouji nodded. "Yep, she told us how she'd planted her ring in your pocket when she'd bumped into you and how she snuck into the locker room after she went to the bathroom that day, found your lock unlocked, and shoved the things in there."

Naruto, taking in all that Chouji said, gave a solemn nod, finger tapping his chin. «So, what happened to her? Did the big guy call the cops?»

Chouji shook his head and rolled his eyes in long suffering. "Naruto, my dad is honestly a really big softy. He couldn't bring himself to call the cops on her. Since she confessed, he let her off easy and just forbade her from coming back here again. He figured she'd learned her lesson or something."

Naruto pursed his lips and bobbled his head. This made no sense. Mizuki had confessed to it. «Well thank goodness _that's_ over,» he lied. He gave the portly host a wave and headed to the changing room, unaware that Chouji called after him.

"Oh, by the way, Na—" Chouji paused when Naruto turned away. Even though he couldn't hear him, Chouji murmured, "Forgot to tell you there's a new guy…"

Something wasn't adding up at all. Was that woman, perhaps, _working_ with Mizuki. If she confessed to it and Mizuki confessed to it, they had to be working together. That had to be the only plausible explanation. But as long as he was in the clear, he wouldn't make a big fuss about this for the moment. He would worry about Mizuki later.

No matter how much Naruto tried to make sense of it, he'd never seen the girl dining here _before_ that day, so how did she steal those things from customers who had eaten here? Her bright red hair was difficult to miss, and he was fairly good at remembering those kinds of details. He hadn't even seen her _outside _of the restaurant either. Maybe she'd been here at the times that he hadn't regularly worked.

Did that mean that she knew _when_ he—

He started immediately at seeing someone in the locker room that he'd never seen before, fiddling with the lock on _his _locker. Wasting no time, he stormed over to the male and quickly shoved him away.

"Whoa! Whoa! Dude, relax, man!" the male said, fingers splaying out as he held his hands up at eye level in a placating gesture (which, by the way, didn't ease Naruto at all). He glanced at the lockers and then his eyebrows shot up. "Oh, shit dude. This isn't my locker. No wonder! Fuck!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him, fingers tightening on the bunched up fabric.

"I was wondering my lock wasn't working." He stepped back when Naruto let him go. "Well that explains it," he nodded. He pursed his lips and gave the blond a rather intrusive once over. "The name's Suigetsu. I'm the new guy."

_N—new…? _Naruto thought instantly. He then shivered when the new guy stared at him longer than necessary, and had the slightest sensation that he was being—dare he say it—disrobed by Suigetsu's eyes. His mouth opened to a silent 'Whoa!' when the young co-worker took a step closer, inching his face closer to Naruto's until the blonde's back touched the lockers. _P…personal space._ He scrunched up his face, feeling threatened and exposed.

"Huh!"

…_Er…_

"Dude, your eyes really _are_ blue!" Suigetsu said, finally taking a step back. "At first I thought they were just contacts!"

Naruto blinked at him.

"By the way, you're the one who's deaf, yeah?" he asked, pointing to his ear. "Before I dropped outta college, I took a year of sign language because I was a social worker major. That major was shitty, man. Once I found out that I couldn't make much money, I was like, 'Fuck that! My parents don't make shit and I wasn't good at high school so I can't get a scholarship and I ain't takin out loans cuz I'll never pay 'em off!' So maybe I'll start learnin' sign again or something since you'll be around."

Naruto thinned his eyes at him. _God_, he talked a lot.

"Ah, sorry, I was rambling!" Suigetsu said, flicking a tress of hair from his face. He then tried gesturing as well as possible, "'My sign language is pretty bad, but I'm gonna try with you. I'm your new workmate, Sui-getsu. Please take care of me.'"

Naruto hesitantly nodded.

"Kay, I'm off to work, then. See ya in the kitchen."

Suigetsu, huh? He seemed suspicious. Something about him was off. Something about what just _happened_ was off. But he wouldn't worry about that for now. He turned to his locker and held the lock in his hands, sighing. Looking in the direction that Suigetsu had just left in, he thinned his eyes again, extremely put off. It was tiring to view everyone as his potential enemy.

**-Silent Sonata-**

The mood of the Rachmaninoff's _Op. 39 no. 8 _piece Naruto played was meant to be lyrical, airy, and romantic. It was highly vital that the anyone who played the piece was skilled and had honed dexterity in fingering. The piece was all at once intense, slightly brooding, and still charmingly carefree, but Naruto was mashing up all of the emotions of the piece into something that was akin to confused happiness.

The notes were _too_ clipped and he wasn't paying heed to using the damping pedal, which was necessary for this piece. He was obviously distracted and _not _paying attention to the tone of his playing.

There was obviously something that was distracting him, and by god, if his name wasn't Umino Iruka, the professor would correct it. It was just a short while ago that Naruto was performing amazingly! It wasn't that he was playing _badly _right now. He was just not focused enough (a trend that the professor was starting to notice).

He tapped the piano a few times with his knuckles to gain Naruto's attention, lowering his brows when the blond pulled away from the keys, hands falling into his laps, and sighed heavily, eyes rapt on the keyboard.

Blinking, Iruka sat back in his seat for a moment, thinking of what to say. When Naruto's shoulders slumped and finally he looked at Iruka, he signed weakly, «I'm sorry, Professor.» He scratched at his scalp in irritation. «I'm just a bit distracted.»

It was on his mind for a while now, but he couldn't stop thinking about his 'conversation' with Sasuke at lunch the other day. He and Sasuke had actually been talking _way_ above everyone's heads. Even though everyone was engaged in the same conversation, he and Sasuke had been somewhat holding a private conversation publicly.

Verbal communication. It was still something he was dreadfully apprehensive about. If he hesitated so much to speak now—when circumstances were not dire—how would he react in a situation that was potentially dangerous? If there was some kind of emergency, would he be prepared to voice any distress? Or would he clamp up?

He was tired of remaining so quiet, really he was. After all, when his doctor told him that he may never again be able to walk, he'd done it, hadn't he? For a while, yes, the prospect paralyzed him, but then he fought against it. And when he'd realized that more than ever would it be impossible for him to fit in society (because already he was so different, so foreign), he'd gotten _here_ hadn't he? He'd fought his way through everything.

So when did he decide to stop fighting? He didn't want his past to have a hold on him anymore. He just really wanted to move on. He didn't want to give up and hide behind anything. And what he wanted least was for _Sasuke _to mock him or allow him to think that he was giving up.

But…, the hesitation was still there… He certainly wasn't going start spilling out everything all at one time. He still needed a bit of time. He needed to ease back into talking. He just didn't want to make it seem like it was the end of the world anymore _if_ he said something aloud. Besides, when he'd talked in the student café, no one had laughed or said anything negative.

They weren't like his high school mates. They were his friends.

Iruka took a deep breath and sighed, waving his hand to get Naruto's attention. Naruto got distracted again! When Naruto finally looked at him, Iruka sighed, tugging on a strand of his hair, he murmured, "Listen, Naruto…my aim is to make you become the best pianist you can be, but what you are showing me right now dishonors me. Don't slap me in the face by pushing my efforts away…"

Naruto, about to interject, shrank back from the professor and widened his eyes when his hand suddenly slammed on the top of the piano.

_Don't be too cruel, but be assertive. Not too cruel, but assertive, _Iruka recited in his mind. He came to care a lot for Naruto, but one thing he noticed about the young blond was that he could easily become _extremely_ sidetracked. The other thing he noticed about Naruto was that sometimes it took some tough love to get through to him.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked. When Naruto didn't answer, he repeated, "_Tell me _why you are here!"

This was a side of Iruka that Naruto had never seen before, and it was terrifying. Comical or not, he wanted to hide from the professor in a dark corner. He shook his head at Iruka, jumping when the hand slammed on the piano again. Then the professor posed Naruto an argument that ruffled the blonde's feathers.

"I guess you're not serious about being a pianist! You're not serious about music!"

The blonde's mouth dropped open. «Of course I am!» he retorted, offended, hurt, and burning inside.

"Then why are you not _throwing _yourself into it? Why do you get so distracted from time to time? It mustn't interest you!" Iruka argued. He groaned, sat back down, and covered his eyes for a moment. He dragged in a deep, long sigh, startled somewhat when something touched his shoulder. He uncovered his eyes, saw Naruto's concerned, determined ones, and shook his head.

"'Sorry, Naruto. I'm just over-reacting,'" he finally said gently, cracking a tired smile. "'I guess I'm not one of those strict professors. It's just that…I believe in you so much. I really do…but sometimes you frustrate me because you don't realize how amazing you are. How great you can be. It's like all you wanted was to come into this department, and when you did, you'd reached your goal. Don't let it die from there, Naruto. Don't sell yourself short. Keep pushing.'"

Naruto nodded in understanding. It was like Iruka was only confirming the things he was just thinking. Those words were mind-bogglingly what he needed to hear.

Iruka sat up, and Naruto sat back. «I won't disappoint you, Iruka! I really want to do well! I'm really looking forward to the concert tours!»

Iruka smacked his forehead. "My gosh, Naruto, I forgot to tell you! I talked to Dean Orochimaru about that! He's totally enthused about this, but he feels that once a month is _too _ambitious. He said it would be a better idea to do the tours about a month before the end of every semester. Then the students will not have to worry about _too_ many things to practice and can at least spend a month preparing for their final recitals, especially if they are juniors or seniors."

Naruto nodded in understanding. «So who's going to be taking part? When are you going to give us the music scores? When are we going to get together for practices? It'll be a chamber orchestra, right?» His excitement grew with each query.

Iruka grinned at Naruto's enthusiasm. "Well, we've been looking at a few scores. We're trying to get only a few instruments. It's nothing too heavy, after all. It consists mainly of strings and maybe one woodwind." Naruto nodded. "We're still deciding on a violinist and a violist. We would also like an interesting solo instrument; we want something else other than the generic violin and piano."

Naruto made a mock-insulted expression.

"No offense to the piano," Iruka grinned.

Naruto smirked and then started in curiosity, «So we're not going to be playing anything traditionally Japanese?»

Iruka shook his head. "We weren't really thinking about it. Our goal is to gain children's interests in classical music, not traditional music. It would be interesting, but we feel that the demographic we are reaching out to will respond more to something more international." At some point, he'd started talking to Naruto in sign, but couldn't think of some words in sign.

Naruto nodded, pursing his lips. «So what music have you chosen?»

«Well, we have a duet that we would like to do of Halvorsen's arrangement of Handel's _Passacaglia_ for viola and violin. A duet of Ralph Vaughan Williams' _Romance_ for viola and piano, one solo piano piece by Rachmaninoff called _Elegy_. We're looking for a couple others.»

Naruto canted his head to the side. «More Rachmaninoff?» he asked his professor.

"You don't like him?" Iruka questioned, feigning hurt.

«Oh, no, no! I really like his compositions. He's just _insane_! Do you know that he had abnormally large hands?» Naruto retorted with a grin. Iruka snickered at the question, fully aware that, yes, Rachmaninoff was able to make some difficult chords because of the size of his hands, and that his compositions were nothing short of complex, if not _genius_. «When are you going to round everyone up?»

"Oh, well, we're hoping that everyone will be selected by the end of the week."

«And who is we?» Naruto asked. «You keep mentioning we. Whom else?»

"Oh, well, for right now, Dean Orochimaru is pitching the choice for students and music. I'm looking for a professor who will be willing to do this with me. I'm thinking of Kurenai."

Oh, Kurenai-sensei was awesome!

"And if things go as planned, we should begin practicing as a group in the middle of next week."

Naruto made a little dance in his excitement. _Oh my gosh, I'm so stoked now! _

Iruka laughed and Naruto's mood improved his own. He reached over and rustled the blonde's hair, laughing when Naruto flushed angrily and swatted his hand away.

Everything would be okay. Everything was going to be fine.

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**Comment: **Really hope you enjoyed!


	19. Part III: An Echo in the Silence

**Comment: **This chapter is extra, extra long. Not rushed through, but it definitely moves. Please enjoy it.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**An Echo in the Silence  
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Walking to the student café with Sakura, Naruto heaved in a large breath of relief as he stared at his 'B+' grade for his Math exam, even though he'd studied for an 'A'. He was so thankful that he had English and Math with Sakura, because sometimes he just got so lost with those classes. «I'm so relieved,» he said quickly to Sakura. «You really helped me a lot, Sakura.»

«No problem, Naruto!» Sakura returned. «You know, sometimes I feel like even though we have two classes together, we don't really talk to each other in them, so _thank goodness_ we meet for lunch together!»

«I know!» Naruto said, glowering. «You know, I _live_ with Kiba and I barely get a chance to see him!» He then gave a comical pout. «I feel like I see you guys more than I see him! And even then, I feel like we barely do anything together!»

«Aw, you'll live, Naruto!» Sakura grinned. She then made a fake, saddened frown and moved her index finger from the corner of her eye down to her cheek.

Naruto clicked his tongue at her and then let out a puff of air in a silent chuckle, looking ahead as he walked.

Sakura tightened her lips for a short moment as she glanced askance at Naruto. He and Sasuke, huh? It was a little strange, suffice it to say. She knew Sasuke for years, but she'd only known Naruto for a such a short while. This development between the two of them was something unlike Sasuke. The two of them didn't really let anything on, though. Maybe she was _wrong_ about them, but she was good at seeing these kinds of things. Well, she didn't know what happened behind closed doors, but yesterday she didn't have an opportunity to observe the two because Sasuke went to tutor one of his classmates during their break hour. She was trying to watch them closely.

_So…maybe I should test the waters, _she thought mischievously, hiding a Cheshire smile behind her notebook, which she pressed over her lips. She then straightened herself as she transformed her expression to one of innocence. She hit Naruto on his arm lightly, getting his attention.

«What?» he asked.

«So, you and Sasuke seem to have gotten a bit _closer_,» the rosette said outright. Naruto's reaction was nothing short of amusing.

_Agh! What does she know? _he thought instantly, eyes going wide. «No way!» he denied far too quickly. «That bastard is so uptight and…and…» he paused, squinting in thought. «I'm not close to that relentless jerk!» he concluded.

Sakura hid her amusement and pouted lightly, donning a face of curiosity. «Oh? Well I noticed that the two of you aren't fighting and arguing as much as you used to,» she said thoughtfully, looking up. «Maybe it was just my mistake…»

Naruto thinned his eyes at her suspiciously as they continued walking.

_Oh denial, Naruto_, Sakura thought, grinning. _I know what I've seen!_

Naruto stopped walking and pointed at her accusingly. She was just grinning! She looked at him _again_ with that clueless, innocent stare.

«What…?» Sakura asked. Oh, but in her mind, she couldn't stop laughing at Naruto.

Naruto pointed to his lips wildly and then to her again. «What was that grin I just saw?» he asked.

«What are you talking about, Naruto…?» Sakura asked, looking at him with wide eyes. _Ugh, _she thought, suppressing the urge to snap her fingers. _I need to distract him!_ Her face abruptly brightened. "'Ah, Sasuke!'" she said quickly, looking past Naruto.

The blond turned quickly in the direction, and then turned back to her with his face reddened in irritation. Sasuke wasn't anywhere to be found!

«Oh, I thought I saw him…?» Sakura asked and then pinched her bottom lip between her fingers. _Hehe, I'm just terrible…_ she thought.

Snarling quietly, Naruto clicked his tongue again as Sakura turned brazenly and continued to the student café.

"Someone looks _awfully_ satisfied!" Ino said, smiling at the Sakura as she sat down by her. Naruto followed just moments later, giving her a wave.

"That I am, Ino," Sakura started, smiling widely at her friend. She then repeated each word emphatically, "That I am."

"Well why ever for, Sakura _dear_?" Ino asked audaciously, nudging Sakura in the side. _What little tid-bit do you know that you're not sharing, Sakura?_

"Oh, no reason, Ino _dear_," Sakura retorted smartly, glancing quickly (but obviously) at Naruto, as if saying, 'It's about Naruto!' in gestures that only Ino would possibly pick up on. "I'm sure you'll figure it out all in good time."

Ino, too, glanced quickly at Naruto, and then returned her gaze to Sakura questioningly.

"Wherever there are women, there's talking, and wherever there are geese, there's cackling…" Neji muttered as he set his tray at the table and sat.

Ino and Sakura looked at Neji curiously. Naruto nudged Sakura and asked her what Neji had said, and when she repeated it, he covered his mouth and chuckled quietly. Ino finally hissed at Neji, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Neji merely sighed, opting instead to commence eating; better he put food in his mouth than say anything else.

"It's…it's a Eu-European s-saying," Hinata answered as she sat by her cousin. "It means that you t-two are chatting away like two old h-h-hens."

"I know what it _means_, Hinata," Ino glowered. "But what does that have to do with us?"

Hinata, not knowing any other kind and gentle way to say it, said, "B-Basically…well…you two l-look like you're up to n…no good."

"None at all," Neji groused, more to himself. He suddenly bent over the table and let out a hiss when Ino's foot made contact with his shin.

Even though Ino wore a charming smile, her clenched teeth and thinned eyes, directed solely at Neji, gave away her lack of composure. "Your sexist comments are _so_ unappreciated, _Neji_," she said finally with a vicious tone.

They were suddenly pulled out of their intense glares when they heard a snort followed by a loud, breathy series of cackles.

Everyone turned to see Naruto laughing (out loud, mind you). He paused for a moment, stared at Ino and Sakura, and snorted again, consumed with laughter. His head fell back and he cradled his torso as he laughed boisterously.

Sakura didn't know why, but seeing Naruto laugh so freely and loudly caused her to clench her lips and chuckle before she, too, gave way to quiet laughter. She didn't know why she was laughing, or why even _Naruto_ was laughing (or what he could have found so funny that it made him laugh _out loud_) but it rubbed off on her.

But whatever it was, Naruto was running out of air and he was turning impossibly red.

"What is _so _funny?" Ino groused, punctuating the question by standing up and slapping Naruto on his arm. Why was he laughing at her?

When Naruto could finally calm down, tears at the corner of his eyes, he covered his face for a moment before looking at Ino apologetically, trying not to smile. «I can just see it,» he said with a grin. «I can see you and Sakura with bodies of hens, literally clucking and cackling at each other with your wings flapping. It's very fitting.»

He pulled out a pencil and paper from his bag, scribbled on it viciously for a few seconds, and finally held it up, a perfect rendition of his vision made manifest on the sheet of paper. Ino and Sakura's caricaturized faces in the drawing were so sly and conniving and incredibly humorous at the same time. It made him chuckle again, and before Ino could reach it, Neji snatched it from his hand, observing it.

Sakura gasped, mortified by the drawing, and slapped Naruto on the arm playfully. Ino simply glared at him.

Hinata giggled as she looked over her cousin's shoulder.

"This is so spot on," Neji said, shaking his head and unable to hide a grin.

Ino huffed at Naruto. "I'll let it pass this time, Naruto," she grumbled as she stabbed her fork into her food. She scooted her seat over a bit when she saw Sasuke walking over with a tray of food in one hand, his instrument case strapped to his back, and a chair from a nearby table dragging behind him with his other hand.

«Thanks,» Naruto grinned. He glanced at Sasuke, who sat down with an acknowledging nod, before quickly returning his attention to Ino.

"Only because you have a terribly cute laugh," Ino finished.

Sasuke coughed at the comment and then looked up quickly.

"Oh, you _missed_ it, Mr. You-Need-To-Talk-Now," Ino said to Sasuke. "Naruto just laughed his _ass_ off."

Sasuke feigned indifference at the comment, shrugging his shoulders. "And yet I'll live," he murmured, causing Naruto to curl his lip at him. He returned the face before looking down at his food again and chewing slowly on his rice.

He wanted to hear it.

"'But you're opening up to us a little, Naruto," Sakura said as she smiled, finally pulling out her lunch from her bag.

Naruto's laughter. Sasuke wanted to hear it.

"'Well either way,'" Sakura started, bumping Ino with her knee under the table, "'Just so you know, it makes us feel privileged that you're comfortable enough to talk to us,'" she said encouragingly and warmly.

"Yeah, but I hope it's not because Sasuke _grilled_ you the other day," Ino intervened, nudging Sasuke obnoxiously.

Sasuke sucked his teeth and lowered his brows at her. _Why do I always have to be the bad guy? _

"Here's what made him laugh," Neji grinned, holding up the drawing. "I said something about these two, and this popped into Naruto's head."

Sasuke sipped his water and rolled his eyes, resignedly taking the drawing. He sequentially coughed, turning his head and putting down the sketch as droplets of water dribbled on his chin. And he couldn't stem it. He couldn't contain the exhale that puffed between his lips. Or the subsequent chuckles that rumbled from his diaphragm and pushed past his amused smile.

Naruto paused.

Not a grin. Not a smirk.

Sasuke was out-and-out laughing.

Something clamored in the blonde's chest. He'd never seen Sasuke _laugh_ before. Nonetheless smile an honest smile.

And it was _his_ doing.

Sasuke poised himself quickly and picked up the drawing again, extending it in front of Sakura and Ino. He narrowed his eyes at them and the drawing, and finally said, "_So _fitting."

Naruto shrugged and cleared his throat. He reached for the drawing and grabbed it quickly. He then cleared his throat again and pulled out a pre-packed lunch from work last night, opening it up and mindlessly munching on some rice and eggs.

Sakura, tasting the awkwardness, prodded Naruto in his side with her elbow in a sudden thought. "'So is there anything new in your musical lives to let us in on? _Any_ of you guys?'" she asked.

Naruto then nodded enthusiastically. «Iruka is going to be doing a small traveling ensemble. He's going to be visiting different schools and he invited me to be the pianist!»

"Wow, that's great, Naruto!" Ino said as she reached over and slapped him on the arm.

"Ah! You…you're doing that t-too…?" Hinata spoke up, trying to hide her excitement.

«What do you mean, 'too'?» Naruto asked. He suddenly beamed at her, pointing. «He asked _you_ to do it too?»

"'Yes, just today,'" Hinata answered with a small nod. "'_And _Neji.'"

Naruto pointed to Neji animatedly, and the male Hyuuga nodded in agreement.

«Two people that I know!» Naruto said, wiping his forehead in relief. He pointed at Neji, «So the best violinist in the school—»

Sasuke glowered at Naruto.

«And the, ah…» Naruto paused, lowering his eyebrows in thought. «Hinata, this is so weird of me to ask you…but…what instrument _do_ you play…?»

Hinata blushed and squirmed in discomfort.

Ino waved her hand at Naruto to grab his attention. "'You've never known?'" she asked, and Naruto shook his head. "'She's apparently the _best _harpist in like…the _country_.'"

Naruto dropped his jaw in amazement.

Hinata flushed madly, covering her eyes. "N…no I'm not! You're exa-exaggerating!" she burbled shyly.

"Oh please! Weren't you invited to be the guest harpist in the Tokyo Philharmonic when you were only 15?" Ino asked.

Hinata was turning deep, deep red. "That d-doesn't make me the b-best, Ino…!"

"'And!'" Ino added, "And Neji was, too! Hinata was the guest harpist and Neji, you were the guest violinist, right?"

Naruto comically turned to Neji, pointing at him in question. Neji nodded. _No way! They're ultra elite!_ he thought, overcome with a sense of inferiority.

"'They're really low key about it, though. Most humble people I've ever seen,'" Ino said proudly. "'Like, these two have some _serious_ talent but won't even remain instrumentalists. It's a waste, I tell you. A waste.'"

«And why not?» Naruto asked, shocked, almost to the point of being offended.

Neji rolled his eyes in annoyance. The subject made him so livid. "'I've inherited my father and uncle's business, _unfortunately_, because my father died when I was ten. My mother and my uncle, Hinata's father, are pushing me to be the president.'"

"'And they w-want me t-to be the vice-president,'" Hinata mumbled.

Naruto nodded and then pouted. «But you're in _this_ college. How soon are they expecting you two to take over…? Are you going to go to school for business when you're done here…?» he asked.

"'We're both already going to Tokyo University as part-timers for business administration. We _both_ started last year. Basically our parents are letting us 'rebel' for now, but as soon as we graduate we're going to go to TouDai full-time,'" Neji explained.

Naruto shook his head in amazement. _And I though __**I **__had it hard?_ «But do you…_want_ to take over the business…?» he asked apprehensively.

"I could care _less_ for it," Neji hissed in obvious disdain.

"I…I feel the s-same…" Hinata murmured. "I have n-no interest f-for it…"

"'You two should express your desires to your parents…'" Sakura said. "'I'm sure they'll come to understand…'"

Neji simply gave her a stare that said, 'Yeah, that won't work.'

"'Pah! They should both just boycott their family business!'" Ino said with the wave of her hand.

«Wow…so…I'm going to be working the best violinist in the school, and the most beautiful harpist in the school,» Naruto said, nodding.

Hinata gushed from the frank flattery.

What was this about an ensemble? Sasuke lowered his eyebrows in thought. _Iruka_ was doing this…? He was, not a violinist, but a violist by 'profession', but damn it, why didn't Iruka ask _him_ to be the violinist? He's just as good as, if not _better,_ than Neji at the violin!

He clicked his tongue quietly. _Whatever_. Neji was a senior; let him enjoy his last year as a musician. But, once again, _damn it_, _Naruto_ was doing this? Sure he had some skill…but to be put with _Neji_ (and Hinata) in a small ensemble? That was both bold and daring on Iruka's part. Naruto had obviously gotten better.

But why hadn't Iruka asked him?

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto groaned quietly as he placed the bin full of dirty dishes on the counter top, giving a small, pleading gesture to Suigetsu as he quickly checked his phone for the time. Suigetsu gave him a toothy grin and grabbed the bin, heading to the sink to wash the things in it.

Naruto hissed in anger and rolled his eyes, going towards the back door to put out the trash. Lately, Chouza had gotten very adamant about keeping to the schedule to take out the trash, and Naruto had been so busy with helping the front of the restaurant that he was now a few minutes behind in doing that. If the big guy came in here right now and saw the garbage, he'd have quite a bit of a hissy fit.

Naruto opened the back door, grabbed the trash bags, and threw them outside blindly before walking out, putting them in their respective bins, clicking his tongue to the tempo of the piece he'd been practicing with Iruka. When he finished, he closed his eyes for a moment, deftly playing an imaginary piano. Iruka was very pleased with his playing for the past few days since they'd had their conversation. And, tomorrow they were going to be meeting with the other people he'd selected. He beamed in triumph, turned around and couldn't suppress his gasp of surprise at seeing Mizuki standing by the door, leaning against the wall.

_Ugh, god, something always ends up squashing my good mood. _Naruto glowered at the other male, shoving his thumb to the direction of the street as he neared the door. Didn't he have anything better to do with his life than keep bothering him?

Just as Naruto was about to enter the restaurant, Mizuki grabbed him by his shoulder and in reaction he violently flailed his arm. The platinum blond threw his hands up in the air in a placating gesture, smirking at Naruto. "I was thinking…do you remember that offer I made you that one time? It still stands. Trust me, you don't want to say no."

Naruto stared at Mizuki incredulously. The guy was bipolar or something! One minute he was making threats against Naruto, causing him to get into trouble, and then next he was acting chummy with him? There was something so off about him…

The blond jumped slightly when a hand landed on his shoulder and he turned slightly, breathing out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Suigetsu. If it'd been Chouza, he'd be fried. And yes, fried, not fired.

"Hey, who's this?" Suigetsu asked Naruto. He then raised his hand and gestured simply, "'A friend?'"

Naruto shook his head violently at Suigetsu. «No way!» he answered, offended.

"Ah, Naruto's just kiddin'. He and I go back a few months now." He turned to Naruto, his smile so fake that it made the blond nearly gag. "Right, Naruto?"

The blond resisted hissing at Mizuki. He curled his lip in disgust and glanced at Suigetsu, who gave Mizuki a strange stare. Shaking his head, he stepped inside of the restaurant and promptly shut the door behind him. He continued to glare at the door, cursing mentally at Mizuki. Suigetsu stepped back and looked at Naruto again with that exposing stare, then lifted his brows, tapping the blonde's shoulder. When Naruto faced him sourly, he asked, "'You sure he's not a friend?'"

«We're not friends! I absolutely hate him!» Naruto gestured angrily, causing his workmate to widen his eyes and take a step back in defense. _Why does it matter to you, anyway?_ He thought angrily. He _really _didn't like Suigetsu…

"Alright, alright man! Fuck! I got it!» Suigetsu answered quietly, turning to head back to the kitchen.

Naruto was about to turn away and head back to the restaurant but paused in thought. He then clapped his hand once to gain Suigetsu's attention. When Suigetsu turned around, he waved him over, and Suigetsu quirked his brow at him, walking back over.

"'What's up, dude?'" Suigetsu asked, gesturing simply at Naruto. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered suddenly when Naruto looked down quickly, eyebrows switching back and forth, and then raised his brows in question when the blond looked back up at him.

«Don't tell Chouza, okay…?» Naruto finally said.

It was quick and unnoticed, but Suigetsu's brows lowered in curiosity. "Whuh…?" he asked.

Naruto quirked his lip in agitation, resigned to gesturing primitively for Suigetsu. He spread his hands around his belly.

"Ooooh, Chouza?" Suigetsu asked. Naruto nodded. "What about him?" It's not like he hadn't understood Naruto's statement. He was just feigning innocence.

Naruto then pointed to the back exit, indicating Mizuki. «Don't tell Chouza about what happened!»

"Oh, oh, oh! I get it! Don't tell Chouza, right?" Suigetsu asked, grinning in accomplishment.

Naruto rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless.

"Oh, don't worry, dude!" Suigetsu responded, slapping Naruto on the arm reassuringly. "I wasn't planning on it anyways!"

Naruto gave a single, affirmative nod in appreciation before heading back into the restaurant to finish helping, rubbing his arm where Suigetsu had slapped him. _Can't shake a really weird feeling from him…_ he thought, pouting and thinning his eyes when the other couldn't see.

But he didn't see the toothy smile on Suigetsu's face disappear into a steeled, humorless mask.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Sasuke grinned in as he walked through the music hall. Iruka had called him last night. Why? Well hat _ensemble_ that Naruto, Neji, and Hinata had been so exclusively included in, aside from the other two members, just got another instrumentalist. Him. _And _he was the last minute choice.

(The truth of the matter was that he had been Iruka's first choice but because the professor didn't want to inundate Sasuke with yet _another_ project, he relented to asking another violist who wasn't even _that_ great. When the violist had arrogantly turned Iruka down, claiming that the ensemble was of no importance to him unless it was a professional orchestra, Iruka had surrendered to asking Sasuke. Imagine his surprise when Sasuke effortlessly agreed to do it.)

Apparently, everyone was supposed to meet in a few minutes with Iruka and Kurenai in the orchestra practice room to organize a possible schedule and get some basics handled. He finally reached the room, sat down at one of the chairs, and waited for everyone to pile in.

It was really confounding that he'd actually accepted to do this so easily. He was already a junior, but lately he was finding that he was more…_engrossed _in music than he probably _ever_ was. So much so that he really didn't do much else than play his viola relentlessly for the past few days. He hadn't had lunch with everyone since Thursday, and it was already Wednesday. Instead, he'd been rigorously finding new pieces to play, trying to finalize the one that he would be playing for his recital at the end of the semester, and working on his compositions for his Comp I class.

He also felt he had a purpose to come to school. Before, he was very indifferent about school, but since this year started, he was more…_willing _to come to school. He would spend most of his time between classes in the library doing research.

He'd never felt so studious and serious in his life.

He grinned and then chewed on his lip to harden his expression when the door opened. He quirked his brow when Hinata and Neji walked in.

"S…Sasuke! You're d-doing this too?" Hinata asked as she walked toward him, fingers tightening on the books she held.

"Of course," Sasuke murmured as Hinata sat by him. "They wanted only the best."

"Hnh. Then why are you here?" Neji asked smugly, sitting next to his cousin.

"_Hnh_," Sasuke mocked, curling his lip. "I was wondering the same about you, actually."

"Oh stop being so full of yourselves, you two!" Iruka grinned as he walked in the room with a box in his hands, having heard the two of them.

"Professor I-Iruka, whom else are w-we waiting for other th...than Naruto?" Hinata asked politely.

"Hm?" Iruka asked as he separated the music scores. "Oh, we're waiting for the twins other than Naruto." _Who, by the way, has gotten his act together since we had that talk_, he thought proudly.

"The _twins_?" Neji echoed, stomach pinching.

"Mm-hmm," Iruka answered distractedly.

"As in the Sabakuno twins?" Neji asked with sudden dread.

"Yes. Why?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah, senior _Neji_. Why does it matter, hnh?" asked a male from the entrance.

"Ugh, Kankuro, move your _ass_. Get in the room already!" a female groused from behind him.

"Shut up, Temari! I'm going!" he responded, elbowing the female behind him.

_Ugh…_Neji thought as he rolled his eyes. _Those two don't ever shut up, that's what's so wrong…_

Sasuke's feelings for them weren't that far off.

The two finally came into the room and sat down when Iruka invited them to do so. He stood up and looked at the clock. "Well, we're only waiting on one other person who told me he would be a little delayed, so I'll just give everyone the scores for now."

Right before Iruka finished handing out the music scores, Naruto came in the room out of breath, signing a quick apology for his lateness. He had to get out of work _extremely _early today (only had a three hour shift!) so that he could be here. Iruka handed him the music scores and he gladly accepted. As he looked up to get to a seat, he paused dramatically at seeing Sasuke, taking a step back.

_Since when is he doing this, too? _Naruto wondered. And on _top_ of that, where was Sasuke the last few days? Aside from being in his Early Music and Western Music classes to take his notes, Sasuke had been pretty much AWOL, not even eating lunch with everyone else.

When he saw Neji and Hinata, he beamed and made a beeline for them, putting the thought behind him for now. _Feh!_ For Sasuke to claim to like him and just disappear after that! Not that he _cared _or anything…!

He gave a small, friendly wave to the two other students as an informal greeting, and the two, in return stared at him incredulously and nodded absentmindedly, the female turning to the male and whispering something.

"'Well now that everyone's here, I can start,'" Iruka began. "First of all, professor Kurenai is supposed to be here, but her child needed to go to his pediatrician for an emergency, so she'll be here the next time and apologizes that she can't be here now. The most important thing right now is that we need to find an agreeable time to meet together as a group. If we are to do this by the end of this semester, we only have a little over two and a half months to get everything perfected. Any suggestions?"

"Fridays and Saturdays are good for us," Temari said, raising her hand. "Evenings, preferably."

"What?" Kankuro burbled at his sister. "No way! Fridays are definitely _off limits_!"

"Oh shut up! You just play video games with your friends!"

"It's a sacred night, Temari! I'm sorry that I have _friends,_ unlike _you!_"

Naruto waved his hand until he got Iruka's attention, then stated, «I work on Fridays and Saturdays in the evening. So…»

"Well then, are weekdays better?" Iruka asked.

"As long as it's after seven," Neji responded.

"How about we do Monday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 9? Does that sound good?"

As they continued to discuss the finer details about the group, Naruto's mind wandered and he found himself staring in Sasuke's direction. When he saw the raven smirk at him, he straightened his back, turned, and directed his attention to Temari and Kankuro. They looked familiar. He'd definitely seen them somewhere before, but he couldn't place where.

And why were they looking at _him_ like that…? They were heatedly whispering things to each other while _staring_ at him. He could _tell_ they were talking about him. _Ugh_, Naruto thought. _Probably talking about the fact that I'm deaf and therefore incompetent…_

And suddenly, out of nowhere, Kankuro, with utter seriousness, gestured to Naruto, «You know my little brother!»

Thrown completely off guard by Kankuro signing at him, Naruto simply pointed at himself in question.

"'Well there ain't no other deaf kid in here, so who d'you think he's talking to?'" Temari groused, signing as well.

Hinata gasped at Temari's brisk comment.

«I'm sorry, but do I know you…?» Naruto asked, pouting in thought.

"'Well, you probably don't remember us, but I'm pretty sure that you're that kid that my brother talks about,'" Kankuro said.

_Er…?_

"'You know, because of you, a lot of things changed for us,'" Temari began, her eyes thinning as she nodded. "'I'm sure you don't remember us, but you and my little brother started attending the same school for the deaf five years ago and—"

"'Oh my gosh! That's why I didn't recognize you at first!'" Kankuro interjected, slapping his forehead. "'You were in a _wheelchair_ the last time we saw you!'" He suddenly reached over and squeezed Naruto's knee, making the blond jerk away in surprise. "'Aw, wow! It's great to see that you're walking! I gotta tell Gaara when I see him!'"

_Gaa…_

_**Gaara?**_

"Ah!" Naruto uttered. He ignored Iruka's stare of disbelief in favor of the conversation. «You're Gaara's older brother and sister! I remember you! Wow! I didn't know that you two went here!» he exclaimed in excitement. «How's Gaara? We _totally_ lost contact!»

He definitely remembered Gaara! He and Gaara became close friends at a JSL school they'd gone to for almost half a year together.

"'Well, he's going to TouDai,'" Kankuro said, sticking his nose in the air. "He's going to study Surgical Science."

«You're kidding! Tokyo University? That's the last thing I could imagine him doing!»

"'Well, like I said before: After we moved, Gaara became a different person. We _all_ changed…'" Temari said nostalgically. "'I mean…for the better—"

"Uh, while I am so happy all of you are acquainted with each other," started Iruka after gathering his thoughts, "we _do _have some matters to finish up with…"

"Right, right! Temari nodded. "Sorry, professor…"

_Naruto was in a __**wheelchair**__ five years ago…? _Sasuke thought. Blinking, he glanced at Naruto quickly and then placed his chin on his fist, staring at the carpeted floor in thought.

When they'd had that party at Naruto's place…when Naruto had been _stripping_…didn't he have some scars on his back and legs…? Could that be why he'd been in a wheelchair? What kind of situation would someone have to go through in order to need a wheelchair and get those kinds of scars…? Could that also have to do with what happened to his cheeks?

Not only that…but…Temari said that Naruto _started _attending a JSL school. Did that mean that Naruto was just going to supplementary school to continue learning JSL? Or…_Or did he __**become **__deaf and attend that school as a result? _Sasuke realized. Five years ago…that meant that Naruto was about 13 at that time.

Something slithered down his spine, settled in his stomach, and made him shiver in a sudden realization. What if something had happened that had caused Naruto to go deaf, like an accident? What if, at one time, Naruto had been a normal child? No scars, no wheelchair, no deafness…and _talking_…

He became nauseous.

"…chiha…_Sasuke!" _Iruka repeated loudly.

The pale raven looked up at Iruka, unbeknownst to him that his cheeks were slightly flushed from the sickness he felt crawling up his throat. "Hnh…?" he asked.

"Have you been paying attention at all, Sasuke…?" Iruka asked dejectedly.

Sasuke gathered his bearings and sat back in his seat, swallowing down his nausea and wiping any emotion from his face and replacing it with a composed façade. He apologized quietly.

"You all need to arrange agreeable times that you can meet with each other privately. I will expect that at rehearsals you will all have practiced."

Sasuke simply nodded, but was too distracted with his discovery to really take in what Iruka was saying.

"We'll be meeting _tomorrow_ night at seven," Iruka continued, "As I said before, I will expect that you _all_ will have _practiced_ your respective music scores. I require nothing short of greatness from the six of you. I understand that this is something rather last minute, but your willingness to participate in this is greatly appreciated. I believe that each of you is competent enough to handle the extra workload."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Iruka looked up at the clock. "If none of you has questions, you can be on your merry ways." He stood there for a few seconds. "No questions?" he asked. _Ugh, if all my students could be this independent and reliable about music, it would be heaven…_ "Well then, I'll be going," he said quickly, clapping his hand once, collapsing the box he'd come with, and taking it out with him.

Sasuke canted his head at the enthusiastic, now voiceless conversation between Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro, and faced Neji. The two of them had a duet. "Friday and Saturday evenings?" he asked. On a technicality, he was 'demanding' that Neji consent to meet with him to practice, but would be polite enough so as to pose it as a question.

Neji sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sure," he answered, "but at your place, not mine."

Sasuke sucked his teeth at him. "Why my place and not here?"

Neji grinned at Sasuke and shook his head. Oh, the inexperienced one would be made wise. "Easy answer, Uchiha," he answered. "I get free food from you. Liberal space. Hm. You're closer to me than school is, so that pretty much seals the deal for _me_," Neji answered. "And you won't have to leave the _comfort_ of your home."

"Hnh. You care _so much_ for me," Sasuke grumbled sarcastically, deciding to look through the music for a couple of minutes.

"See you tomorrow," Neji finished, and Sasuke nodded. "Hinata, let's go."

Hinata quietly nodded and gave Sasuke a smile.

Neither Sasuke nor Neji had particularly been _fond_ of each other for the past three years, bordering on extreme hostile competition with each other in the past. The thought of ever eating at the same table would've never crossed their minds. But now…they were civil with each other. Things changed.

Neji and Hinata waved off Naruto, gave discreet good-byes to Kankuro and Temari, and left.

Temari and Kankuro left shortly after exchanging numbers with Naruto and ruffling his hair.

Naruto heaved a nostalgic sigh, turned around, and stopped short when he saw Sasuke staring straight at him with thinned, suspicious eyes. The raven looked back down at his music after he put on his sack, standing to leave. Naruto waddled stiffly to his seat, jumping slightly when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He reached for the phone, sat, grinned at the two texts that he'd just received from Temari and Kankuro and then his eyebrows disappeared into his messy bangs because—long time no see—Jiraiya sent him a message, too!

The message read, 'Oi, brat! Didn't tell you 'bout it, but I've been writing another book for a few years. Got published under alias, Gama Sennin. It's really popular on the internet! I have a radio interview to introduce it next Tuesday afternoon on Tokyo FM. You gotta listen to it no matter what! Have Kiba interpret.'

Huh…First of all, since when was Jiraiya writing another book, hmm? Secondly, what kind of alias was that? Since when did Jiraiya like frogs? And in _no_ way was that pervert a hermit! But aside from that, to have an interview on Tokyo FM was no small matter! _Well_, this book must be really good, then. _Yay, Jiraiya, yay!_

He paused in the quiet celebration as a disquieting thought swept through his mind. Jiraiya usually let Naruto read the books before he published them, so that was a bit off-putting that he didn't get a chance to read this one first. Gosh, he really hoped that he and Jiraiya weren't drifting apart…

While contemplating on the text and wondering what the book could possibly be about that Jiraiya felt the need to make an alias, he meant to 'lock' the message so he wouldn't delete it from his inbox by mistake, but mistakenly forwarded it to the person at the top of his contact list.

The name at the top of the list was 'Bastard.'

Mind you, he never before called or sent a text message to Bastard, and didn't remember _why_ he had Bastard's phone number, or _when_ he got it.

"Gah!" Naruto let out as the message was 'successfully sent'.

'Bastard' was Sasuke. But at least he was long gone by now.

_Ugh, I'm such an idiot! _When Naruto's phone vibrated less than a minute later, the blond opened it and read the message. 'You're such a loser,' it read. 'Don't forward me weird messages. Loser.'

**.o.**

When Naruto finally got home after the short meeting, he checked his phone for the 'time', for the umpteenth time. Well, it was only seven, so Kiba wouldn't be home for another couple of hours. It was terrible how his and Kiba's schedules were so different and busy that often times they wouldn't see each other until well into the night—if even at all.

In fact, the weekends were _worse_ for the both of them especially because both worked at standard closing shifts, so while Kiba got home around 10:30, Naruto wouldn't get home until 11:30 and sometimes 12, and by that time he was far too tired to do anything. Kiba would usually be sleeping by that time. On Sunday mornings, he had a study group with that Shino guy and a couple of other classmates, and Naruto had one of his private lessons on Saturday mornings with Iruka.

So lately, they pretty much kept missing each other. He missed the good days when they were in high school and they saw _so _much of each other that they would at times _not_ talk to each other for a weekend _just_ so that they would miss each other enough by the time school started again. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all.

_I guess this is what adulthood and responsibility are all about_, he thought dejectedly. Adulthood and responsibility were all about reminiscing on the times when he was youth wishing that he was an adult.

He pulled out his phone and wrote a message to Kiba. 'Hey, did you get a weird text from Jiraiya about a book?' He pulled off his bag and placed it by the couch, grabbing the new music scores he'd been given. Thinking it nothing short of wise to act on Iruka's words about at-home practice, he set the music at the piano ledge and put his phone on his lap.

_I can't believe I have __**five**__ pieces to get through, _he thought, shaking his head as he flipped through the music. Deciding to stick to one of his two solos piece for now (why Iruka gave him _two _solo pieces, he didn't know), he spread the sheets and stared at the Rachmaninoff music score. Two Rachmaninoff pieces! Two! Was Iruka _that_ in love with Rachmaninoff? _Elegy_, this one was called. That meant that this piece was meant to be somber and contemplative.

His phone vibrated and he opened it. 'Yeah!' Kiba's response read. 'He told me that he was gonna be coming out with this new book and since it was popular on the internet, he'd been requested to do a radio interview. _Fuckin' _awesome, dude!'

'Yeah, I know!' he responded. 'So you gonna be able to do the translation on Tuesday?'

'Fuck yeah, dude! I'll just get out of work early that day. The boss owes me a few favors anyways.'

_Sweet!_ Naruto thought. It was sad that this was the circumstance that would bring them together, but he'd take anything, really!

Kiba sent him another message. 'Jiraiya said it's around 4:30, which is really a good time cuz a lot of people listen to the radio at that time. Dude, sorry, but we just got a butt-load of customers who just walked in. Talk to ya later, man.'

Naruto thought twice about responding but simply wrote, 'Kay, see ya. Make good sales!' He put the phone away and didn't expect that Kiba would be responding. Breathing deeply, he looked at the sheet music again.

Elegy was actually not very complicated, but it had such a slow tempo, which Naruto _always _found so…uninspiring. He wasn't crazy about the _happy _sounding songs either. He just liked something that sounded _agitated_.

But this was one of the pieces he was entrusted to, so he had to absolutely do well! He had to prove to Iruka that he _was_ diligent! And he had to prove to _Sasuke_ that he was a formidable musical opponent! So what that he was good at three instruments!

Sasuke could be good at the violin and the viola, but no longer at the piano!

_From now on, _Naruto thought with determination, _the piano is going to be __**my **__forte. _

Now that he thought about it, though, he'd only seen Sasuke play violin only once (or _had _it been the viola and he just didn't realize it out of ignorance). It's not as if he could tell by _hearing _it, but apparently the viola had a heavier, more guttural sound than the violin. Viola suited Sasuke better, then. He'd heard the violin before, but probably never paid attention to a viola, so knowing how much the violin sang made it seem more fitting for Neji than Sasuke. At least _Neji_ was more expressive.

Well, he would see tomorrow at practice what he was up against.

**.o.**

Naruto was breathing excitement out of every pore. His level of enthusiasm was as high as it was the day he'd had his audition. Last night, he'd practiced for 3 hours and his hands were stiff. The muscles in his forearms burned every time he moved his fingers, but, _god_ was it a gratifying feeling. He loved music so much. And _that_ was why he was headed to the piano room instead of having lunch with everyone else.

When he turned the corner and saw Neji and Hinata walking through the music hall (Hinata carried Neji's violin on her back while he pushed her cased harp through the hall), Naruto waved at them. As soon as they reached each other, he asked them enthusiastically, «So did you guys practice last night?»

Neji snorted and Hinata shamefully shook her head. "'Not for Iruka,'" Neji answered. "'I did some research for _Ibiki's _class and I worked on a composition and crammed for a marketing exam for tomorrow and practiced for my recital at the end of the semester. And _then_ I squeezed in three hours of sleep.'"

…Well!

Naruto blinked and turned to Hinata.

"'I…I did just about the s-same,'" she admitted. "'I d-decided to forgo eating with everyone t-today so I can start on my practice, at l-least.'"

"'Me too,'" Neji agreed.

Naruto then realized with some dread _and_ fascination that he was the only freshman in the ensemble. That was incredibly intimidating. At the same time, he felt insanely privileged that he could be honored to play with more experienced students.

His seniors were so inundated with other aspects of school and life, yet they still agreed to do this on the side. It was obviously too good an opportunity to pass up. He _couldn't_ botch this up for them. Neji, as a senior, probably wanted this as his last and greatest school-related musical experience before he was forced to renounce music as the main part of his life. And Hinata, as a sophomore, could do this and feel accomplished, too, that before she graduates, she will have 'rebelled' against her obligation.

He knew for sure that there was nothing else in _his_ life that he wanted more than to be with music. The three parted ways shortly thereafter and he walked into the piano room.

He, too, had planned on not meeting with Sakura and Ino in a few minutes and had just told the rosette after class that he wouldn't be at the student café (in which she told him that it was totally okay, and that he better _'kick ass_' at the practice this evening). But that was for extra practice. Neji and Hinata hadn't even started practicing yet!

He knew that Temari and Kankuro were juniors as well, but he wondered if they were going to pursue music after they graduated. Well, now that they found each other, he could catch up with them, and eventually with Gaara. He grinned at the thought and sat on the amp in front of the piano, cracking his fingers and as many knuckles as possible before stretching to loosen his muscles by shaking his arms out and rotating his head a few times.

When he was done, he sighed as the muscles in his arms and neck relaxed, bending a little to turn on the amp blindly, now accustomed to the knobs. He hesitated for a moment before playing and wondered if Sasuke had practiced at all…

They had a duet, which meant that he and Sasuke would have to put aside time to meet with each other and practice together. When he'd realized this at first last night, he didn't know how to feel about it. He knew for sure that he certainly didn't…_hate_…Sasuke as much as he had when they first knew each other. But…

Lately, every time Sasuke was around, he became intensely vexed and yet incredibly withdrawn, which ended up having a neutralizing affect on him. With everyone else, he was animated, but with Sasuke, he clammed up. He couldn't understand why, and it vexed him!

"Agh!" he murmured aloud in frustration, grabbing onto his hair and ruffling it madly.

Shaking his head in dismissal, he looked back at the piano and started playing without further hesitation.

**.o.**

Sasuke pulled away from the window to the practice room as Naruto started playing. He'd been passing through to find a room to practice in when he saw the blond sitting in front of the piano deep in thought.

As he found a room and settled his things, he flexed his fingers, which were in pain. Actually, he'd played rather rigorously last night. Even though he was also a junior, he'd taken as many credits as possible when he was a freshman and sophomore. So this year and next year, his load was going to be rather bearable.

Therefore, he'd actually taken a _lot_ of time to look through and practice the music that Iruka had given him. He noticed with some intrigue that he and Naruto had a duet. Since he'd only heard Naruto play a few times _before_ he had apparently 'improved,' he was rather curious to see how things would fair. He wasn't particularly keen on duets in the first place (he much preferred doing solos or being the soloist for concertos) and actually in this tour he would be doing many, but he wasn't _so_ stubborn so as to refuse to do something different than his preference.

He was, though, quite irritated that there were no solo pieces for him to perform _at all_. Such is the misfortune of being a violist—solo pieces are very rare to come by. Still, as far as the duet went…

He had some…anticipation of practicing…_privately_ with Naruto. And it _would_ happen. The thought suddenly brought up something slightly impure to his mind because now that he'd gotten over his blatant aversion to him, Sasuke was completely aware of his attraction to Naruto.

He was a patient person, though, and he knew that his persistence with Naruto—in all aspects of his communication with the blond—was baring results.

**-Silent Sonata-**

_Agh! Antici-fricken-pation, _Naruto thought as he walked into the large practice room with nearly a skip. Everyone was already in there, sitting or standing in front of a music stand and playing music while for Iruka and Kurenai to show up. Sasuke's viola was sitting safely in his chair, but he wasn't in the room.

He couldn't believe that he was a part of this!

What really amazed Naruto was seeing Kankuro look over Neji's shoulder thoughtfully as he watched his senior play the music on the sheet before him. He watched as a moment later, Kankuro pointed out something to Neji on the sheet and Neji tilted his head in obvious distaste but seemed to contemplate on the comment before playing again.

He turned and looked over at Hinata giggling at something that Temari did while dramatically manipulating her flute while she herself fingered her harp in concentration. Her fingers deftly curled on a few strings and plucked.

His chest suddenly pulsed at seeing them, and his excitement waned. The room must be filled with so much sound right now.

It probably sounded raucous because they weren't playing in unison. It probably sounded nothing close to unified or harmonious because they were all practicing at their own pace. But he would have chosen even that kind of musical noise over this silence.

Because all he saw at the moment was the expression of four people enjoying their music so much that they hadn't yet even noticed him walk in. And all he wanted, right now, was to hear them play and hear their voices and Kiba's voice and Jiraiya's voice and _everyone's_ voice, and just hear _everything_…and hear the piano…

A hand fell on Naruto's shoulder and he turned, seeing Iruka and Kurenai. He smiled weakly at the two and then proceeded to walk in with them. He sat at the piano that was a few feet away (which, of course, _wasn't_ an electrical grande), and stomached his silent torture. He was intent on upholding his initial desire to do as well as he possibly could for himself and everyone else.

Sasuke walked in a short moment later, rolling up his sleeves as he picked up his viola and sat down. Iruka and Kurenai hushed the students, and then the male professor started to speak, getting straight to business.

Naruto stared at Kankuro with gratitude when the male started signing for him. Iruka was speaking too quickly and Neji and Hinata were not so adept at sign language!

"Well, I'm glad that you were all practicing!" Iruka started. "Today, we are going to concentrate on Neji and Sasuke's duet of Handel-Halvorsen's_ Passacaglia _first. What I ask of the _rest_ of you listening is that you write any notes on anything that you feel needs improvement. I will do the same. Kurenai, as the string specialist, will guide you two as you're playing on anything that needs to be adjusted, and then the rest of us will express our critiques afterwards. Let's begin, then."

Sasuke and Neji both nodded, standing with their instruments in hand. Neji pulled up his music stand so he could see better, then turned to Hinata. He didn't say anything, but she seemed to understand what he wanted and pulled up a chair by him so that she could change the pages for him when needed.

Sasuke had already memorized the piece between yesterday evening and today (aside from the fact that he was previously familiar with it), so he was fine without having the music before him. He stood confidently, and he and Neji both cradled their instruments between their necks and collar bones for a quiet moment.

Naruto looked up at the two of them with captivated intensity and then widened his eyes. Sasuke just glanced at him and, once their eyes locked, gave him a demanding, compelling stare that said, 'Watch me.' The two began playing a moment after Kurenai cued them, and it soon became difficult for Naruto to do otherwise than watch Sasuke.

Kurenai intermittingly threw out some comments that Neji and Sasuke instantly acted upon, acknowledging her with the quirk of an eyebrow or a discreet nod. But they played unhindered, and Naruto watched Sasuke intently.

A foreign feeling hit his stomach. Something slinked all over his skin as he watched Sasuke. The raven's fingers nimbly and quickly pressed down, jumping back and forth. Fingers trembling intensely in vibrato. Muscles in his arm went taut as he struck the bow across the strings in a few quick strokes, seemingly agitated.

And then an apparent regression in tempo because Sasuke's eyebrows puckered, and his face scrunched slightly. Fingers dragged slowly and purposefully over the strings.

It didn't matter at the moment that he couldn't hear. Sasuke managed to compensate Naruto's deafness with his expressions, whether on his hands and arms or on his face. And while he was only watching Sasuke and not Neji, it felt as if Sasuke was talking only to him. It felt as if he was telling him exactly what his part sounded like. When Sasuke took in a deep breath right before the tempo quickened again, Naruto couldn't help but take in a gulp of air with him.

And he continued to convey everything that was in his part of the piece. Nothing was held back. Every pluck of the string and slide of his hand and stroke of his arm and shake of his fingers said something to Naruto up to that last, drawn out note.

And when Sasuke's hand fell to his side tiredly, fingers holding the frog of the bow loosely, and his chest heaved and he stared deeply at Naruto and Naruto could do nothing more than to look back at him because something hidden and profound vibrated in him, it was no longer a _question _of _if_ he liked Sasuke.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

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**Comment: **I hope you enjoyed.

Anyway, if you would like to hear Handel-Halvorsen's _Passacaglia, _I highly suggest that you watch it on youtube: youtube . com / watch?v =pAKA3rLENGU

After you watch it, you should watch: youtube . com / watch?v = Z3vQWvRNeps &feature =related

The second video is the same song, and the same performers, but as a reunion. You don't need to watch it all, but at least watch the first minute to see how the two interact with each other. If you watch the video in mute, you sort of get to feel what Naruto is feeling [The violist is the thinner, standing man].


	20. Part III: A Tremble in the Dark

**Comment: **Warning, there is a LOT of cursing in this chapter.

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**A Tremble in the Dark  
**

**.o.**

**.  
**

Naruto seemed to move through the restaurant like a wraith. Still, two days after the first group practice, he felt chills shiver up and down his spine when he thought about Sasuke's playing. Never mind the fact that it had been the raven and Neji's first time practicing together with the piece and they'd actually received a _lot_ of criticism from Kurenai and the rest of the classmates.

It was just…he didn't know what to think. But when Iruka had asked him his perspective on their duet as someone who couldn't hear (which actually showed Iruka's consideration of his point of view), he had to disguise the fact that he'd only been paying attention to Sasuke. So, on the spot, he made mention of the two of them working on their fingering when modulating the notes so that their transitions would be smoother (_Keh! _he'd thought, _I just totally pulled that out of my ass_). It seemed to be an effective comment, though; no one objected.

And, because Sasuke kept staring at him, he withered under the gaze and had added that Sasuke needed to have…_more _expression (not that he _hadn't_ been expressive, but he had to make something up). So Sasuke thinned one eye at him angrily and tightened his jaw, as if to say, 'I'll show you more expression,' warningly.

Now he was somewhat dreading what that look meant. His phone vibrated once in his apron pocket as he finished cleaning a table, but he put off answering the message because he was still working. But every three minutes, the phone kept vibrating as a reminder. _Argh! Stop fucking vibrating! I'll have my last break in like ten minutes, damn it! _he thought after a while, hitting his hand against the pocket. When Chouza finally _did _give him his break, he sighed and went into the locker room, sitting on the bench and loosening his apron. Cracking his back and neck to loosen the cricks from working all day, he sighed, beyond tired. He couldn't wait to go home, shower, and _sleep._

The phone vibrated again and he straightened, having forgotten about it. He pulled it out and then stopped short. _Gah! It starts…_ he thought in dread. A message from 'Bastard'. That would be Sasuke, once again. And not just _one _message. No, it was two messages.

He opened the first and his stomach violently flipped. 'Come to my house tonight after you're done with work,' it read.

_Um…_

He lowered his brows and blinked at the message. Firstly, why did Sasuke want him to go to his house? He wouldn't be done until 10:30 tonight, so why at such a late hour? He looked at the second message. 'For practice,' it read. 'We have a duet but we haven't practiced. Iruka's more than likely going to start off with the duets for the first few practices.'

Naruto t'sked. Couldn't he find a more convenient time to meet? He was about to respond to Sasuke's messages but he received another text at that moment. 'And I want food.'

Ah, fuck. Now he had expectations to meet. _Che, so demanding!_ Still, he responded to the texts. 'I won't be done until 10:30! I'll be too tired. Why can't we do it on another day? Besides, won't your neighbors complain?'

'Because our next group practice is on Monday, you moron. When are we going to get in any practice? It's already Saturday. Unless you want us to sound like shit. Oh. That's right. You're used to that already. Besides, there's a whole floor between me and my neighbors. Barrier free.'

Naruto puffed his cheeks in irritation and then gritted his teeth in a hiss. _Who is he calling a moron?_ He could practically _see _Sasuke's face, that humored sneer, directed right at him! He heatedly sent Sasuke a message. 'I do NOT sound like shit, you bastard! And who are you calling a moron? Besides, the time is really inconvenient!'

'Stop complaining, loser. This is what being in an ensemble means. It's called _commitment_ not convenience.'

Naruto clicked his tongue. 'Fine, I'll come, you got it? But I'm only coming for the sake of our ensemble, because we're a team!'

'Whatever. And bring food.'

_Tch, to call me a loser __**and**__ a moron in one breath! And __**then**__ he expects food? Ugh, the bastard! _He looked at the clock quickly and realized that his break was nearly over. Standing, he sighed tiredly and responded to the message. 'No way! And I have to get back to work, so stop bothering me, you bastard!'

As he retied his apron, he walked toward the kitchen, clicking his tongue and turning his phone on silent. When he reached the twins, who were both relaxing because it was slow at the moment, he asked them if they could make ready an order to go for one of their regular deliveries (in which he gave the name) and leave the food in the oven so it could stay hot until the restaurant closed. Hnh! The things he did!

**.o.**

When Naruto's shift was finally over—unfortunately ten minutes later than expected—he sighed and hung up his apron in his locker, checking to see if he had anymore messages from Bastard. Or anyone else for that matter. He put the phone back on vibrate and walked toward the kitchen. When he entered the room, he opened the turned-off oven, pulling out the bowls of food with a large glove and carefully pouring them in to-go containers. After washing the bowls and putting them in their respective cabinets, he slung on his back pack, put the containers in a large paper bag, and went to Chouji and Chouza in the office so that he could pay for the order.

When he left the restaurant, he stood outside for a little while in thought. Now…it had taken him a little over fifteen minutes to get to Sasuke's house on a bike when he'd made deliveries, but he didn't have the bike to use. That would be about a…forty-five or so minute walk, which was _not _going to happen with his backpack and this heavy bag.

He hailed a taxi, pumped his arm in success when one finally stopped, and got in. When the taxi-driver turned to him to more than likely ask for his destination, he pulled out his phone, wrote in the address, and showed the words to the driver, after which the man took off.

A few minutes into the drive, his phone vibrated again. Rolling his eyes when he saw who it was from and sighing in exasperation, he read the message from Sasuke. 'Are you bringing food?' it read.

He grinned terribly and lied, 'I totally forgot! My bad!'

'…Such a loser! I can eat a fucking cow right now!' was the response, which, of course, caused Naruto to raise his eyebrows. He was _that_ hungry? Maybe he shouldn't lie to Sasuke, in that case, but…

At least Sasuke would be surprised? He looked up when the taxi finally stopped a few minutes later and the driver turned to him. Smiling thankfully at the man, he pulled out the amount of the fare and got out the vehicle, making sure to not forget the food. When he got inside the building and stood in front of the elevator, his stomach pinched.

He really…_really_ didn't like elevators. Still, he pressed the button, waited for the shaft to get to the main floor, and stepped in unsurely, pressing the button for the last floor. Shutting his eyes tightly, he just waited for the elevator to finish moving before opening his eyes. _Made it…_ he thought as his shoulders slumped and he let out a sound of relief. He walked up the small flight of steps, reached the roof, and breathed the clear air deeply as he walked to Sasuke's apartment. Maybe the crisp air would wake him up, because he was starting to feel extremely tired.

When he reached the door, he couldn't suppress a cackle as he grinned mischievously and then pressed the bell over and over and over again until the door swung open and Sasuke thinned his eyes at him in irritation.

_Sasuke wears glasses? _Naruto thought off-handedly as the raven clenched his teeth at him.

"Don't do that," Sasuke growled. He was pissed. He'd really been looking forward to Ichiraku's, damn it, so seeing Naruto couldn't have put him in a worse mood!

Naruto tilted his head and stared at Sasuke with a feigned, innocent expression. And then he said to Sasuke (because his other hand was occupied, he convinced himself), "Deli'ry." He held up the bag of food to Sasuke and saw relief wash over the raven's face instantly. (And then he felt guilty for having lied to the raven. Lord knows how _awful_ it is when one is looking forward to a particular meal and it's not there).

Sasuke grabbed the bag quickly, unable to completely hide an elated smile at seeing the food as he breathed out a hungry groan. He made a motion for Naruto to enter, and as the shorter male passed him, he gratefully ruffled his unruly mop of blond hair (because food, really, could soften the most-willed of men).

Naruto swiped Sasuke's hand away quickly, hissing out his protest with an arched lip. "Shtop't," he slurred, furling his brows.

When they reached the kitchen, Sasuke placed the bag on the table and signed to Naruto, "'You're talking more.'" He felt a bit unwieldy signing to Naruto.

Naruto then sat, sighed unenthusiastically, and retorted smartly, «Yeah, because some _ass_ kept insisting I do. I'm sure you've heard of him; the name Uchiha Sasuke ring a bell?» He grinned smartly at Sasuke.

Sasuke breathed out a chuckle as he pulled out the large containers of food from the bag, selecting one of them randomly and opening it to smell its contents, bringing it close to his nose. The aroma wafted up and he closed his eyes pleasantly. _Heaven_. God, he was so hungry. He was pulled out of the daze when Naruto coughed purposefully.

When he looked at Naruto, he cleared his throat and murmured, "'Thanks,'" weakly, gesturing with the food. Oh. "How much was it?" he asked, hand reaching for his wallet.

Naruto lifted his eyebrows and then lowered them, glancing away as he scratched at the back of his scalp, clearing his throat and murmuring something completely and utterly incoherent. When Sasuke gave him a curious, impatient stare and finally pulled out his wallet, he held his hand up, palm facing out, near his face. "'Free,'" he lisped.

Sasuke insisted on paying, but when Naruto finally shoved his hand away, the raven shrugged and pocketed his wallet, walking to his cabinet to pull out a couple of bowls. As soon as he turned away from Naruto his shoulders slumped and his face fell. He felt incredibly awkward. Turning back around, he brought the bowls and a couple of pairs of chopsticks to the table. Sitting, he opened all of the containers and began to pull small portions from each bowl and put them into one of his own.

_This is so awkward… _Naruto thought as he watched Sasuke, leaning forward in the seat, crossing his arms on the table, and nestling his head in his arms. The raven was completely relaxed in the comfort of his own home. He even had a hair band on so that his bangs wouldn't be in his way, which amused Naruto because it made the pulled back hair stick up. And he never knew that Sasuke wore glasses, either, and seeing the raven take them off as the steam from the food fogged them up made him tilt his head. _And_ this was the first time he saw Sasuke wearing something other than slacks and a chemise or polo!

Dare he say it, Sasuke looked completely _normal _in his t-shirt and sweats and glasses and pulled back hair_. _He totally didn't get the feel of Sasuke being pretentious or ultra egotistical or arrogant or otherwise anal. He reared his head back when the bowl, now full, was pushed toward him, and he looked up at Sasuke and shook his head. "''m no' 'un'ry,'" he murmured, unable to resist gesturing.

Sasuke once again shrugged, pulled the bowl back to himself, and proceeded to eat from it. So what does he do now…? Picking up a dumpling with his chopsticks, he blew on it to cool it before clenching his fingers on the eating utensils as he nibbled off a piece.

Naruto yawned. He was tired, and watching Sasuke eat wasn't exactly the most entertaining thing in the world. He wriggled uncomfortably in his seat before knocking his knuckles lightly on the table to attract Sasuke. When the raven turned to him (with half a dumpling sticking out his mouth and his chopsticks clenching onto it), he opened his mouth as if to speak, paused, and swallowed. And then he kicked his head toward the other room and asked, «Piano?»

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and nodded and noticed an instant change in Naruto's demeanor. The blonde's back straightened and he stood out of the seat quickly, walking out the kitchen and into the living room, where the piano sat in the corner of the room. He listened as Naruto started jumbling notes for a short while, more than likely to get the feel of the piano, and then started playing the song that they were to perform together. Knowing that Naruto was coming earlier, he'd put the sheet music on the piano. It was a piece by Ralph Vaughan Williams entitled _Romance._

Naruto was playing it a little _too _slowly. Sure, it was a slow and tender piece (and really, _why_ did Iruka give them a piece like this to do? Where was the energy?), but it also had a sense of weightless bliss, and as a minute passed, Sasuke became more and more annoyed at hearing Naruto drag. Through it. So. Much. And then pick up too quickly. And then drag. Through it. Again.

Sasuke understood the fact that Naruto had a problem with tempo, and that he was used to faster pieces, so maybe the blond was overcompensating on this awareness and trying a little _too_ hard to play slowly, but getting agitated and suddenly playing quickly. Either way, Sasuke took his time to finish up and put the remaining food away quickly when he was done, washing his things and then heading to where the piano was.

_That stance again…!_ Sasuke thought as he walked into the room and paused after putting his glasses back on, Naruto's back facing him, leaning closely over the piano. He wouldn't be surprised if the blond was puckering his lips in concentration. He clenched his jaws and walked toward Naruto. When he reached the piano, he stopped for a second before he got in Naruto's line of vision and clapped his hand on the piano twice to get Naruto's attention.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and flinched slightly at seeing the raven's face. He had a completely unsatisfied demeanor. _Ugh, he's totally going to bash my playing, _he thought before he thinned his eyes.

"'Your tempo is too slow,'" Sasuke said, feeling increasingly strange as he gestured to Naruto as he spoke. Really, he wasn't very used to it and it made him feel awkward.

Naruto blinked slowly as he followed Sasuke's hands and then looked back up at him.

"'And some of it is off. Have you been using a metronome?'" Sasuke continued.

Naruto shook his head. God, he was tired. Sasuke probably didn't notice it, but he was almost falling asleep at the piano early. He was _totally _sapped of all energy. Sasuke turned away for a moment to find his metronome, and when he did, he turned it on, placing it on the piano. It flashed on for a moment, dimming and flickering, before it turned off. _Aw fuck! _The damn thing was out of battery, and he'd run out of batteries the other day. Sasuke picked up the metronome and clicked his tongue, shaking it to get some juice out of it. A moment later, Naruto reached up and grabbed it from him, opened it, and switched the batteries, looking up at Sasuke from his seat in triumph when the metronome blinked to life. And then it died again.

Well that wasn't working either.

Ugh, forget it!

Sasuke leaned forward by Naruto awkwardly and exhaled noisily (Naruto, frozen, blinked when a few strands of his hair blew in his face from Sasuke's exhalation). He grabbed Naruto's right wrist and placed the blonde's palm on the music rack before flipping through the sheet music to the first page. «Listen,» he said. He tapped his index finger with a steady rhythm with his left hand on the rack, making sure that Naruto picked up on the tempo, and then started to play the treble clef notes, staring at the sheet music. It wasn't really a complicated piece.

Naruto eventually nodded his head to the tempo that he felt and stared at Sasuke's playing hand for a moment. He then quickly fixated his eyes to the sheet music to catch up to Sasuke. Finding where he was, he lifted his left hand and began playing the clef notes to the rhythm that Sasuke played, bending closer toward the piano to read the notes easier. Knowing the tempo and finding it increasingly annoying to have to reach under his arm, he removed his other hand from the music ledge and turned a bit toward Sasuke as a result of pressing his hand against the bench for better leverage.

It felt strange. They were in complete unison. Their hands lifted and lowered together in synch.

_Sasuke is doing this for me… _Naruto breathed out in a chuckle, bending closer to the piano and playing for a bit longer. He didn't want Sasuke to see his face. He could feel his cheeks flaring, and damn it, he felt like a fucking high school girl. _Okay, okay. Deep breath. Breathe in. _He held his breath. _Out. Calm._ _Be calm, damn it!_ He looked up when the raven suddenly pulled away and stopped playing, standing straight.

Sasuke grunted quietly, and when Naruto signed to him a quick 'What?' he simply responded, "Bathroom," before he walked stiffly to his bathroom, closing the door behind him. He leaned his back against the door, eyes going upward as if asking for strength, and let out a long, shaking breath. He couldn't trust his stomach, which was quivering weakly.

Naruto was so deeply entrenched in his playing that he hadn't notice every time his hair brushed against Sasuke's arm. Or how he kept holding his breath for a few seconds before letting it out a long, warm puff of air on Sasuke's pale hand.

Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror and noted with chagrin that his generally pale cheeks were slightly colored, and reaching up to touch one, realized that they were rather warm to the touch. He pulled off his glasses and turned on the faucet so that the water was freezing cold, splashing it to his face. He could still hear Naruto playing, but the music was getting quieter by the second. Staring at his reflection, he hissed when his cheeks became more reddened, more than likely because he'd slapped the water onto his cheeks. _Damn it, _he thought in irritation. Shaking his head, he used the toilet quickly and then washed his hands. He breathed in and out deeply and then looked back up at his reflection. Pleased that his cheeks were back to their pale color, he headed out again.

Naruto had stopped playing by this time, and Sasuke curved his brow at how deeply the blond was bowed before the piano. His head was resting on the music rack, where he would feel the most vibrations, facing away from Sasuke, fingers of his right hand placed on a few keys but not playing. His left hand dangled uselessly.

"What the fuck is he doing…?" Sasuke wondered aloud as he walked to the other side of the blond before stepping back in surprise. Naruto was _sleeping_! He was wide mouthed and snoring! Sasuke clicked his tongue in irritation. "We barely even practiced, loser," he murmured. He looked at the time. Since when was it already 12? He looked back over at Naruto. To make him go home at this time…that was a little too careless, especially since the taxi fare went up after 10.

Besides, anyone out on the streets at this time was just _asking_ for trouble. Trouble didn't mix well with Naruto, and he couldn't trust to leave someone like Naruto, with his inability to hear, wandering by himself.

Clicking his tongue, he shook Naruto by the shoulder and the blond shot up instantly.

"Hnh?" Naruto asked dazedly, voice scratchy and high in pitch. He gathered himself shortly thereafter and then stared at the piano for a few seconds. Then, to Sasuke's disbelief, he started playing again, drowsily nonetheless.

Sasuke stared wide-eyed at Naruto and couldn't suppress his snort when the blonde's head bucked forward before he caught himself and resumed playing. And then he did it again. The raven jostled Naruto again and then said, "'You can sleep on the couch, if you want.'"

Itachi always kept his room locked, and Sasuke couldn't think to have the blond sleep in his room.

It was comical the way Naruto turned to said billowy, cushioned, oversized couch, eyed it in fatigue for a short moment, and then wobbled to it weakly before plopping down lifelessly on it. Sasuke stared at the curled blond for a moment with his arms crossed and then canted his head. He leaned forward slowly, eyes rapt on the curled back.

_Scars on his back._

"_You were in a __**wheelchair**__ the last time we saw you!"_

Glancing over quickly to make sure that Naruto was still, in fact, asleep, he went on his haunches, bent forward, and tugged lightly at the blonde's shirt until the fabric folded between his fingers. He pulled up gently, baring Naruto's back. He looked at the expanse of tanned skin, marred with surgical scars at the spinal column.

He touched the raised tissue, finger sliding across it. "What happened…?" he wondered aloud, voice croaky. Naruto would never hear him. He could ask over and over again loudly, and as long as Naruto was turned away from him, as long as Naruto's eyes were closed, he would never know what it was he was saying. He then fingered the very light scars on Naruto's cheek facing him. They weren't very noticeable scars unless one looked closely. The were thin, whispering across his cheeks. "What was it that made you this way…?" He glanced at the piano, and then at his viola on its stand near the piano.

"What makes music so damn important to you?" His finger traced over one scar repeatedly, gently, and he suddenly recalled some words spoken to him a long time ago.

"_To him…it was more important. You'll understand one day."_

He pulled away and shivered madly, something horrid flashing in his mind. He stood up and inadvertently cradled his side and shoulder, breathing out heavily, nauseatingly.

His hand moved to cover his mouth as he was overwhelmed with queasiness from a memory that he'd pushed, shoved, and hidden deep, deep within the smallest corner of his mind. Suddenly he felt hot. _God, too hot._ And he coughed because it was too hard for him to breathe, like he was surrounded by _smoke_.

Naruto's phone, which had fallen out his pocket, suddenly vibrated on the couch, and he was jolted out of his thoughts. It vibrated again, and then a third time.

He knew he shouldn't, but went to pick up the phone anyway. It was Kiba messaging Naruto wildly. 'Where the fuck are you, dude? I'm not your guard dog, but…well…you know…it's past 12. Not that you have a curfew…but I've been home for over an hour and…' the first message read, trailing off. The second message read, 'Bitch, you better not be in a fucking ditch. I better not hear on the radio or see on the news tomorrow about some foreign-looking blond found in a ditch, dead!'

The third message then made the raven snort, rolling his eyes. '…You're not in a ditch, are you? Because I'll fucking kill you, bitch! You hear me? Murder in the first!'

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed long-sufferingly. For the sake of Naruto's health, he responded to the inane message. 'No. He fell asleep at my place.'

'And who would YOU be?'

'Sasuke.'

A moment later, he received a wary-faced smiley followed by a '…Fair enough…'

'I've got him tucked right in my bed. He couldn't resist.'

'One, that's an outright lie, and two…, you're just a shitty liar. Whatever. Maintain a safe distance!'

Sasuke rolled his eyes again before closing the phone and placing it on the coffee table.

_Maintain a safe distance!_

That was an impossibility.

He spared Naruto a last glimpse before walking toward his bedroom, lest he act on that impossibility.

**.o.  
**

Naruto woke up with a start. He looked around dazedly, realized where he was at seeing Sasuke, and slumped in relief. Sasuke was sitting about a yard away on the couch, typing away madly at his laptop. He paused to glimpse at Naruto, took a swig of coffee, and then resumed typing, unfazed by Naruto's actions. The blond yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. _Fuck. I can't believe that I fell asleep here, _he thought, resisting the urge to slap his forehead. _We didn't even get a chance to really practice!_ Sasuke was pissed at him, he was sure. He waved his hand at Sasuke, and then rapped his knuckles on the table lightly when the raven didn't respond. When Sasuke finally turned to him with upturned brows, he signed, «Why did you let me fall asleep here?»

Sasuke curled his lip at the blond. "Because when I woke you up the first time, you started falling asleep again, loser."

Naruto glared at him and Sasuke turned back to his computer screen. Naruto knocked on the table again and then waved his hand at Sasuke. The raven once again looked over at him. «My bad,» he signed quickly. When Sasuke lowered his eyebrows in confusion, Naruto continued, «For falling asleep. We didn't practice.»

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and murmured incoherently, looking back down.

«What?» Naruto asked, unable to read Sasuke's lips.

"'You got here at 11 didn't you?'" The raven hissed out, gesturing shortly with Naruto. Naruto tilted his head in thought and then nodded thoughtfully. «So it was late,» Sasuke finished quietly.

Naruto let the words roll around in his head before perking up. «Uchiha Sasuke. Hell hath frozen over. That was remorse?» he grinned wickedly.

Sasuke looked back at the computer screen, hissing through his teeth.

Naruto knocked on the table again, and when he caught Sasuke's attention, he started to sign. «Do you wanna—»

"'Why is it that you keep jumping back and forth between talking and signing?'" Sasuke asked suddenly.

«Maybe because I've signed so long that it's out of habit? Is that a problem for you, you ass?» Naruto gestured angrily, cheeks flaring.

"I was just _curious_!" Sasuke answered defensively, eyebrows furrowing. _God, he is __**not**__ a morning person…_ Sasuke, on the other hand, was extremely mellow and laid-back when he woke up in the morning before everything in the world started to annoy him.

Naruto growled through his teeth and nonchalantly looked at his phone on the table. He picked it up and then gasped loudly. "Gah!" It was nine fucking forty-five, and he had to get home and take a shower before going to work at eleven! He stood up quickly and headed to where he'd dropped his backpack in the kitchen last night, picking it up.

"What?" Sasuke asked when the blond looked at him.

«Work at 11! I have to get home and shower and get changed for work!»

Sasuke shook his head. Thank _god_ he didn't work. He stood up and headed to the front door and Naruto rushed behind him. He unlocked the doors and let Naruto past. The blond waved and then headed down the stairs and to the elevator. Sasuke silently watched him leave and then walked back to the ledge, peering over it until, a minute or so later, Naruto burst out the building's front doors.

Naruto, chancing it, looked up and saw Sasuke staring down at him from the few stories up. _We didn't even get a chance to practice!_ he thought in aggravation. And tomorrow was their second group practice, _and_ he worked from three to six thirty, so there was no way that they could get in practice beforehand! «I finish work tonight at six,» he signed up to Sasuke from the sidewalk.

Sasuke tilted his head. Signing from all the way down there…? Well it was better than yelling… And what was this 'finishing work at six' business? _Oh_. «Practice?» he returned from his height.

«Duh!»

«Bring a change of clothes incase you fall asleep here again.»

_Eh? No way,_ Naruto thought, shaking his head. He would definitely _not_ fall asleep again, but thought over the suggestion. He waved his hand in dismissal at Sasuke and then hailed a taxi, which stopped at the wave of his hand. He got in, showed the driver his destination, and drove off. _I hope I'm not fucking late to work, damn it!_

He casually flipped through his phone and then stopped at seeing that his inbox and outbox were _slightly_ fuller than he'd remembered it the night before. He read through the messages of a conversation that he _certainly_ didn't remember having with Kiba last night. _What the hell is this…?_ Flipping through the last couple he'd sent, he gasped loudly and slightingly at the scandalous messages.

_What the fuck, Sasuke! Got me __**tucked **__in his bed? __**I couldn't resist**__? _He started writing a message to the unbelievably insolent raven, thumbs ticking away at the keys angrily. 'Where the hell do you go off reading other people's texts? And who the fuck was tucked in your bed, you _ass_?' Message sent!

His phone vibrated a moment later. 'Revenge for falling asleep on my couch, loser. Maybe you should check in the mirror for the sharpie marks I made on your face.'

"Wha'?" he screeched loudly. He smacked his hands on his face a couple of times before pulling the phone out before him and snapping a picture of his face. Flipping the phone open, he looked at the picture.

_The fuck!_ There was nothing written or _drawn_ on his face, damn it! The phone vibrated again in his hand and he read the message.

'Perhaps you're an absolute moron for believing me. And don't deny that you didn't believe me. You probably took a picture of yourself, you loser.'

_Keh! _'You're a perpetual bastard, do you know that? Has anyone ever told you that you're the biggest asshole on the mother fucking planet?' He puffed his cheeks after he sent the message.

**-Shizuka na Sonata-**

Naruto loved his job. Really, he _loved _his job. Some days, he really looked forward to going, because he could be with TenTen and Chouji and Shikamaru and they were a riot to be with. Or even when he made one of the customers' children smile by making a weird face or a funny drawing. But there were occasional things that marred a perfect workday. Irritable customers, for example. That idiot _Mizuki _showing up uninvited, for example.

But now he had to _work_ with someone that he was extremely ill-disposed to. It was annoying when every time he went inside the bathroom on his breaks Suigetsu, who _wasn't _on his breaks, was also in there, talking on the phone to someone.

And then the weirdo would turn around and face the other direction for secrecy!

Why did Chouza hire Suigetsu in the first place? _Was my two week suspension __**that **__bad that he was desperate to get another employee? _Naruto wondered. No, no, he shouldn't think that way. After all, the twin cooks had definitely made it obvious that they needed another cook other than Ayame, so Suigetsu _was_ needed.

But that didn't make him welcome! Naruto waved his hand at Shikamaru to catch his attention. It was down time right now. "Yo, whassup?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto tilted his head slightly and then scrunched his face up. «Do you think there's anything weird about the new guy…?» he asked Shikamaru.

"'Heck yeah, man!'" Shikamaru answered, leaning back. "He has terrible people skills, y'know?" He leaned forward to Naruto to whisper to him, even though he couldn't hear him. «Chouji even told me that last week he asked the big guy about the security in this place.»

_That's_ suspicious. «Really? That's so weird!» He ushered Shikamaru closer. «Sometimes, I'll go to the bathroom and he's always on the phone and he just looks so suspicious. I'm telling you, I don't trust him!»

«And sometimes he says that he's going out back for a smoking break, right?»

«Yeah, and?»

«He doesn't smoke, dude! He doesn't even smell like it! He doesn't even have smokers' hands. And sure his teeth are weird…but they're pearly whites, man! Pearly!»

Naruto suspiciously placed his hand on his chin, nodding. He and Shikamaru both straightened when Chouza started walking toward them. "'Naruto,'" he started when he reached them. "'A rice delivery is out in the back; you and Suigetsu can bring the stuff in, please, and then put them away. I have too much office work to do so I can't help.'"

Naruto looked over to Shikamaru long-sufferingly and the brunet grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "'Sorry, mate. Gotta do what ya gotta do, yeah?'" He cackled and punched Naruto lightly in the arm before heading the eating lobby when Chouji called him over.

Naruto puffed out air and shook his head before standing straighter when Suigetsu came in from the bathroom, hair pulled back. "Yo, Naruto!" he started, walking over to the blond. "Let's get this bitch over with, yeah?" He slapped his hand on Naruto's arm.

Naruto, in return, gave Suigetsu a wry, fake smile, balled his fist, and punched Suigetsu back as if in good humor before walking to the kitchen back door behind him. When the door opened and Suigetsu stepped out, he watched him closely, noticing with some curiosity that the other male waved to the truck driver in friendliness and then peeked around to see if something was in the alley.

Or someone.

_How **shady **can you get?_ Naruto shook his head in dismissal. He was going to tell Chouza soon, because something about Suigetsu just wasn't sitting well with him. When the truck driver opened the truck door, Suigetsu began taking all the bags that were passed to him and, in an assembly line, placed them on a hand-truck that Naruto had wheeled out behind him. The bags weren't unbearably _heavy_, only 13 kg, but pulling 6 of them piled on top of one another 16 times on a hand truck with a slightly faulty wheel was a _bit_ of a strain. When they were done after the better part of twenty minutes, Naruto was hot and sweaty, but tiredly signed for the bags, and he and Suigetsu sent the driver off.

Thank _god_ Chouza only got these rice shipments once a month.

He and Suigetsu shut the door behind them and then the taller male turned to Naruto and said tiredly, "'Next time, we'll switch back and forth, man.'" Naruto nodded, thinking it only fair. After all, he just _pulled_ the hand truck and shimmied the bags off it. Suigetsu was the one who actually piled the bags on the trucks.

As they started putting the bags in their respective closets, Naruto noted with chagrin that they were quickly running out of space. Was this more than Chouza usually got…? Suigetsu relaxed for a couple of minutes, which, Naruto _could_ admit, he deserved since he'd been loading the hand truck before. He grabbed a small step-ladder and grabbed one of the bags, placing the ladder in front of the closet to put the bag on the high shelf. He did so with a few bags successfully, but _damn_ his arms were tired and he was a little light-headed (stepping off the ladder, bending down to pick up a bag, putting it quickly over his head after he stepped back up—not very good).

And suddenly he was tipping backwards, barely able to keep his balance when the bag was nearly _thrown_ onto the shelf. He stomach shivered as he started falling back, but then he let out an 'Oof!' when Suigetsu caught him from behind, wind pushing out of his lungs.

"Fuck, you okay, dude?" Suigetsu asked, looking down at Naruto.

Naruto nodded thankfully. Silence. «Let go, please…» he signed with difficulty.

"Right dude, shit!" Suigetsu said as he righted Naruto back onto the ladder. "'I'll pass the bags up to you, okay?'" he said. "Like, _anyone_ knows not to do what you did too much. You'll just get blood-rush to the head, man, fuck!"

Naruto tilted his head but nodded anyway. When Suigetsu passed him a bag, he lifted it above his head and nearly shrieked when seconds later he felt Suigetsu's hand on his back, keeping him erect on the ladder so he wouldn't tip back again. _Okay he's helping. He's __**just**__ helping_. He had to keep thinking that to himself every time he felt Suigetsu's hand on his back when lifting a bag. If he kept repeating the words in his mind, it would feel a lot less awkward for the other eight bags.

«Thanks,» Naruto said quickly when they were done.

"No problem, man. Teamwork, you know?" Suigetsu said as he shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.

Naruto nodded, furrowing his brows. Even though Suigetsu had made him feel uncomfortable, he was only helping, essentially. If it had been Shikamaru, he wouldn't have thought any differently, after all. «You earned yourself some brownie points today,» he started, catching Suigetsu off guard. «But! You're still in the negative. 'Cause you're still incredibly weird. So I've got my eyes on you.»

Suigetsu snorted at him and tugged his hair out of the hair tie, ruffling his loosened hair. "Ha, sweet," he said as his demeanor stiffened slightly.

"Oi, Suigetsu!" one of the twins called from in front of the stove. "We need some help over here!"

"Right!" Suigetsu answered, and then waved to Naruto quickly, as if thankful that he'd been called over.

_Still_ a little weird. But he wouldn't get his brownie points revoked for now. Naruto shook his head and went into the eating lobby when TenTen asked him for some help.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Sasuke's apartment door was open, Naruto noted as he walked toward it. Whatever. Sasuke had messaged him earlier that he would leave the door open, anyway. He moseyed in quietly and shuffled in after taking off his shoes. He checked the phone for the time and realized that he was probably forty-five or so minutes earlier than Sasuke expected him to be here. Rude.

"Sass'ge…?" he called out quietly. Of course, he wasn't expecting to _hear _Sasuke respond, but at least feel him walking through the apartment…or _something_. Actually, the floors here didn't really transfer vibrations very well. Sighing tiredly, he sat on the couch and slumped down in it comfortably after putting down his backpack and duffle bag of clothes.

The door down the hallway opened, Naruto could tell, because more light flooded into the room suddenly, and, turning, he saw Sasuke walk out the bathroom with nothing a pair of shorts on and a shirt hanging over his shoulder. The raven tousled his wet, flattened tresses and turned to walk toward what Naruto supposed was his bedroom, obviously _not_ noticing him sitting on the couch.

"S—"

And then he saw it, barely visible but all the same horrid. Covering Sasuke's left shoulder and crawling down his pale back was a strange pattern of scars, his skin raised and mottled. He was frozen on the sofa, even when Sasuke walked back into the hall, now wearing the shirt and stopped and stared at him in disbelief.

_Shit._ Sasuke gaped at Naruto with intensity, stomach clenching. _How long has he been here? _As if his heart plummeted into his stomach he let out a strangled breath. _Did he see…?_

"How long have you been here?" Sasuke choked out finally, voice shaking as he stood unmoving at his spot in the hallway.

Naruto couldn't answer. He could only see…_God_, he could only see that strange blossom of scars even though the fabric now covered them.

"What did you see?" But Sasuke knew. The silence spoke much louder than any answer Naruto could give him. That look on the blonde's face—that look of horror and disbelief written by the drop of Naruto's jaw, that flicker of uncertainty and fear, a paleness that he never thought possible coating his features—it all said to Sasuke that Naruto saw _**it**__._

Naruto shook his head, as if to ensure Sasuke that he saw nothing, but watching Sasuke move swiftly toward him caused him to stand up in alarm.

"You're going to lie to me and say you didn't see it?" Sasuke repeated when he was standing in front of Naruto.

"N…Noh…!" Naruto stuttered, hand cradling his side unintentionally.

"So you're going to fucking mock me now because you finally have a reason to see that I'm not fucking perfect?"

_What? _Where did that come from? "Wh…_noh_, Sas'ge!"

Sasuke turned away from him and roared loudly in rage, the side of his fist slamming against the bricked wall. When Naruto shoved him angrily, he hissed darkly at the blond and barked out, "What?"

Naruto angrily bunted his fist into an open palm, refraining from hitting Sasuke. He then signed furiously to Sasuke, «You would trust me so little to do something like that? What the fuck do you take me for?»

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when Naruto held up his hand at him.

«I never knew that _trust_ was an issue when you liked someone!» he heatedly signed to Sasuke. «If you really liked me, you wouldn't have even _said_ that just now!» He paused, shaking his head quickly at the raven, eyes burning suddenly. «Fucking look at me! I'm deaf, _damn it_! I'm fucking deaf! At least no one can fucking see your scars! At least no one can tell you have them! I have to live my fucking life in a world where people judge me because I'm _deaf_ and because I can't hear them and apparently that makes me contagious and disease-ridden! I've been told _everything_ under the sun because I'm deaf, and you think I would return that favor by stooping low enough to mock you because you have a few fucking _scars_ that you can _hide_?»

Naruto was red-faced, his throat constricted, and the muscles around his ears hurt. This wasn't fair.

«Grow up, Sasuke, and stop acting like a fucking child!»

_Okay, now stop_. A voice told him. _Stop now._ Before he went to far… _Stop before you say something you shouldn't…_

«Look at yourself! Look at this damn apartment! Tell me you've got it bad! What the hell do you fight for?»

That was when he found his back shoved against the wall, Sasuke gripping his shirt with both hands. His eyes were red, his face was _red_, and he was _shaking._

"I told you before, Naruto," he hissed out. "Don't fucking talk about me as if you know me and tell me that my problems are _nothing_ compared to yours. You assume you know me. You really want to know what happened to my fucking back?" he roared. "Do you?"

_No. No. No don't tell me, don't tell me… _"'m sorr—"

"I was nine years old, Naruto! Nine, when my house was burning! The only thing I grabbed from my bedroom was the cased viola that my parents had just commissioned for me. My brother and mother got out, but my father and I were still running, and one of the fucking burning beams fell in front of me."

Naruto closed his eyes, trying to block out the words. He didn't want to see Sasuke's lips moving. He didn't want to know any more. If he closed his eyes, he couldn't know, because his ears were already closed. "Shtop…" So he closed his eyes. But he gasped and opened his eyes when Sasuke's hands surrounded his face harshly, and he was forced to watch as Sasuke continued, piecing words together.

"I was _too._ Fucking. Scared to do anything, and you know what my father yelled to me? He said—" his voice cracked, "He said, 'Throw me the viola!' not, 'Throw _down_ the viola!' Then a piece of the ceiling collapsed on me and instead of reaching for me, my father fucking reached for the viola case. I was fucking trapped under a burning piece of my house and all my father could think about was a viola that he fucking spent 2500 dollars on. I'm his son!"

Naruto shook his head.

"If it hadn't been for the fucking firefighter getting there at that moment, I would have fucking burned to death!" He took in a deep breath and clenched his jaws, nose flaring. He then breathed out shakily, wiping at his eye with the heel of his palm as his throat tightened painfully.

When he could speak again, he yelled at Naruto, "What the fuck is that? _Tell me_! What kind of parent does that? What kind of cowardly father commits suicide five years later because he's too scared to tell his family that he's lost his job? Have you ever seen a hanged body before? Have you ever walked into your house and see a body dangling from the top floor with a rope tied around its fucking neck? And then your mother fucking dies a year later because she couldn't stand to be without her husband, so instead of taking care of her fifteen and twenty-three year old son, who are alive, she decides to take an overdose so she can be with her fucking dead husband?"

Naruto felt sick. He wanted to be sick right now.

"But for some damned reason that I can't under-fucking-stand, I still go and visit their fucking graves because as a son I don't have the fucking courage to be pissed at them." His beat his hand on his chest once to punctuate his next words. "Why do _I _have to feel _guilty_ if I miss the anniversary of their death? And for some _damned _reason, lately I'm thankful that they busted my ass to be as good as I am at what I do, even if I didn't want it at the time, because if it hadn't been for them, if I hadn't gotten so fucking good, then I would have never gotten to this fucking school and would have never met—"

Naruto's legs almost gave. To see Sasuke's eyes glassy and red-rimmed and watered—to see that damn moisture fall from the corner of his eye and to see his lips quiver and his face so red—it was too much. He quickly pulled the raven forward and attached himself to his body, arms tightly encircling him.

He could feel Sasuke's chest beating so quickly. He could feel his body shaking so intensely. Even when he closed his eyes, in the darkness he forced upon himself, he was cursed to feel every tremor talking to him with the darkest of colors.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**Comment: **I was just browsing on the internet, doing research for this story, and I stumbled onto a little gem. Unfortunately, it's an advertisement so a lot of it is contrived, but it's touching nonetheless.

**Youtube . com / watch?v = Um9KsrH377A&feature =related**

It also just gives you a taste of how deaf people are sometimes treated in other countries.


	21. Part III: This Noise is Welcomed

**Comment:** Thank you all for the wonderful attention. Please enjoy this chapter.**  
**

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**This Noise is Welcomed**

**.o.**

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**

Naruto looked across at the walkway as the bus continued driving. Sasuke sat opposite of him with his ankle crossed over his knee and his viola and violin case propped on his leg. The blond flashed the raven a quick, weak smile when their eyes met, but Sasuke's chest merely rose as he drew in a large gulp of air before looking away.

Sasuke was embarrassed. Or feeling a touch reserved about what'd happened in his apartment the previous night:

_After a considerable amount of time passed after his explosion, Sasuke finally calmed. Naruto felt utterly helpless in the situation, but looked up at the raven and simply whispered, "Le's p'ay." Play music after what had transpired? Was he daft? No. It wasn't blatant avoidance of Sasuke's feelings, or of the situation. _

_Naruto wanted to play music because it was therapeutic. He knew it to be so._

_Sasuke took a short moment to look down, staring at the hands bunched around his shirt over his stomach. Hands that spoke on many different levels. He clenched his jaws and looked back up at Naruto, at that grave and desperate face, large royal blue eyes full of a strange reassurance. His face said 'Trust me.' Tightening his lips, he gave Naruto a single nod. "Okay."_

_So they practiced. For hours, and well past __midnight, stopping to eat or to use the bathroom__. Otherwise, they couldn't stop; they just played their duet, Sasuke his viola and Naruto the piano. The raven would, at times, stop Naruto and help him, indicate to him where to hold back or where to be a bit more aggressive (and the shift in his disposition, really, was nothing short of mind-numbing, completely opposite of that anger and pain he'd displayed before)._

_They both retired wearily an hour past __midnight__, and Naruto took a shower and changed, prepared this time to stay over night, even though he'd convinced himself that he wouldn't do so. When he came out of the bathroom, clothed in a t-shirt and flannel pants, he sat on the couch and looked up at the raven, who'd just finished tidying up the room. Sasuke turned away tiredly, and, panicking because he didn't feel like things between them had closure, Naruto stopped him from going to his bedroom with a resound, "Shtay, Sass'ge."_

_Sasuke turned, moved toward the couch reservedly, and finally leaned against the armrest next to Naruto. Naruto didn't look at him, didn't face him, but canted his head with a vaguely perplexed, troubled expression. «I'm a bit conflicted,» he started quietly, slowly, still not facing Sasuke. «Wouldn't it be really weird if I turned to you suddenly and kissed you? Where would it come from? What would you do, you know? But that's what I want to do right now, and I don't know why…» His hands stopped moving for a while and he closed his eyes as he chuckled softly, unaware that Sasuke was staring at him incredulously. Then he continued. «It's the dumbest thing in the world, the urge to want to kiss you. So I want to hit you or something, you know? It's the only thing I think I can do right now that will make sense. Because that's how I'm used to treating you. It's what we're used to. It's **normal**.»_

_Sasuke blinked at the blond, who finally looked directly at him._

_«It would be weird, wouldn't it? If I kissed you?» Naruto grinned at him hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously with a small series of nods, as if reassuring himself that kissing Sasuke would be completely out of question._

**_No. God, no it wouldn't_**_, Sasuke thought. But instead of voicing his thoughts, he merely shrugged in answer. If Naruto wanted to, he would let him._

_«Can you let me hit you?» Naruto asked seriously, face drawn in concentration. «I want to hit you.» _

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the question, especially when Naruto stood up from the couch. "I'd much prefer that you not," he answered the blond. Naruto clenched his fists at his side reservedly, indecisively. When he reached forward and clamped one hand on Sasuke's shoulder, the raven stared down at him with a deadpanned, tired expression. "Don't tread on slippery ground right now and ruin what happened tonight. For once, I'm in a very good mood. But if you hit me, I swear I'll hit you back."_

_When it seemed that Naruto's other hand lifted up in order to follow through on his impulse, Sasuke warily took a step back, and then paused when Naruto's hand secured itself to his jaw in a manner far gentler than he'd prepared himself for. _

_He leaned up and pulled Sasuke forward and kissed him, butting their foreheads together slightly._

_And afterwards, unwilling to remove his hand, he pulled away from Sasuke and murmured breathily, "You c'n hi'me back." Sasuke blinked down at him again somewhat dumbly, and Naruto nodded at him permissively. "I feel shtrange now, so…do somefin'."_

_The raven paused for only a minute, staring at Naruto, before he silently nodded and leaned forward again. But just once, did he return the gesture, because he only wanted **this **moment with Naruto. When he pulled away, Naruto nodded and then plopped onto the armrest of the couch before falling back onto the cushions. He nudged Sasuke with his foot, and the raven walked around the couch and sat down.  
_

_The both of them fell asleep on the couch._

And that was why _Naruto_ felt somewhat awkward too. He'd initiated things with Sasuke this time. _He's_ the one that made the first move. Nothing _further _happened, but he'd started things!

When Sasuke leaned forward in the seat and slowly stood up, Naruto followed and stood as well. The campus was the next stop, after all.

Sasuke kicked his head to the door silently, beckoning Naruto toward him, and when the bus stopped, they got off. The raven slung his cases over his shoulder and stuffed his hand in his pocket. When Naruto came up beside him stiffly, he continued undeterred as they walked to Naruto's morning class.

**.o.  
**

"So…" Sakura began as she fidgeted in her seat. The air at the table felt exceedingly stifling…because she'd been hearing things whispered and said in the halls. Things were being _talked about_. And most likely, _everyone _knew or heard about those _things_. This wasn't high school, but people talked, and it spread. She tightened her lips and then took a breath before she looked up at her friends.

"So," she started again. "'I've been hearing a really, ah, weird rumor today, Sasuke.'"

Sasuke quirked his brow at her at the mention of his name. He'd known this was coming.

"'So I've heard that you and Naruto got off the bus together this morning.'"

Naruto clamped up, choosing to eat his food.

"'And that there is apparently a junior who gets on a stop before you get on the bus, Sasuke. He claims that the two of you got on at the same stop. In front of your _building_,'" Sakura continued, punctuating the last words.

Neji cleared his throat and sat back as he stared pointedly at Naruto. _Is **that** the reason Sasuke'd rushed me out Saturday evening. _He breathed out a chuckle.

"So um…" Sakura started as she twiddled her fingers. "What I was wondering was…?"

Sasuke puffed out a breath in annoyance, placing down his chopsticks. He glanced at Naruto, who was eating his food nervously. "What are you getting at Sakura?" he asked impatiently.

"Wh…what she means is…" Hinata spoke up. "Well, what she—what _w_-_we_ want to know is—" She paused, then lowered her head, twiddling her fingers as well. "Did—Are you—did…_did_…"

"Oh fuck it!" Ino growled out in exasperation as she looked incredulously at Sakura and Hinata. "It's just a _question_ you two!" She then looked at Sasuke and Naruto pointedly, knocking on the table to get the blonde's attention. "What they wanna know is…Are the two of you going out? Are you—" she made a lewd gesture with her hands, "together?" she finished.

Naruto choked on his food. He beat his chest a couple of times and then finally shook his head when his passage cleared up. «Practice!» he answered defensively. «We only practiced!» He didn't want to be the center of attention. He didn't want to give people further reason to talk about him. He'd noticed it in class—the glances, the hands covering mouths to whisper, and the outright statements. He knew what people were saying things about him and Sasuke.

Neji murmured, "Lies." He'd totally caught onto this for a while now. This only backed up his theory.

Sasuke leaned forward slowly and placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands near his face and resting his chin atop his folded hands. He gave them a smoldering stare. A moment of silence loomed above them all. He then nonchalantly lowered a hand and drummed his fingers on the table, breathing out slowly. Finally, he spoke, gesturing his hands so as to make Naruto aware, once and for all, of how he felt.

"'We've kissed _behind_ closed doors, if that's what you mean,'" he admitted shamelessly, and Naruto stared at him with his mouth agape. "'I've even gone to the extent of verbally and nonverbally—'" he chose the next word wisely, and then said it emphatically, "'_expressing _some sentiment toward him, even though he hasn't '_verbally'_ reciprocated such expressions. But his _actions _outweigh his silence.'"

Sakura tilted her head. Sasuke was still the same after these years. He was the farthest thing from shy, but she knew that he was exercising restraint right now, and it was a miracle that he wasn't blushing. That admission was made completely out of shyness. When Sasuke wanted to skirt around something, he certainly made a simple yes or no into the longest dialogue. She spoke up, "So in other words, without you being difficult: _Yes,_ you and Naruto are an…item?"

Sasuke dropped his chin once in the affirmative. "Perhaps," he clarified.

"Finally," Sakura mumbled, raising her eyes heavenward. "Took you two long enough."

"Oh come on, Sasuke," Ino started dubiously, waving her hand. "Sakura and I have known you for years. You're going to tell me that _all_ you've two done is kiss? Nothing more?"

Naruto wrenched at Sasuke's arm, still red-faced, and signed, «You're extremely shameless!»

"So are you going deny it?" the raven retorted.

Naruto looked away. He had one of two choices:

Deny everything. That would mean that there was nothing going on between him and Sasuke. Everything that happened between them would mean nothing. Yesterday (not that anything _extreme_ happened yesterday) would mean nothing. _Or: _Really come to terms about how he felt about Sasuke. It would mean that he would stop denying what he felt. He knew how he felt about Sasuke, though. But at what length would he go to save himself from the public's demeaning eye? The former choice would only prove his selfishness. And it would hurt Sasuke. But the latter choice…

«No, I won't deny it,» Naruto finally answered, unable to look at his friends out of sheer embarrassment.

Sasuke breathed out a chuckle at the blond. Dare he admit it, he was relieved. That hesitation that Naruto made was a bit disturbing.

Ino had to take things further, though. "'Prove it.'"

Naruto widened his eyes at her at the implication of that small sentence. _What the fuck, Ino. Why are you so difficult? _"Why?" he asked aloud, staggered.

Ino looked at him pointedly. "'While _closed_ _doors_ are easy,'" she began reasonably, "'won't you get tired of putting up pretenses? You might as well address it now, when people are around, before they start saying some incredibly incriminating things about you two.'"

«And proving it _won't_ be incriminating?» Naruto retorted. There was such a loophole in her reasoning!

"Oh, of course it will," Ino immediately and brazenly answered, waving her hand in dismissal. She gushed. "I just wanna see you two kiss like at the party."

"Isn't that a l-little…inva-invasive…?" Hinata asked, blushing suddenly at the memory.

"Hush, Hinata!" Ino pointing at the quieter female. "Let me have my fun!"

Naruto quirked his brow at Ino and then glanced at Sasuke. Grinning, he shook his head and stuck out his tongue, using his index finger to point into his mouth and made a humorous disgusted face. _Gag me._

Sasuke clicked his tongue at the blonde but couldn't stifle the ghost of a smile in his lips. _Tch. So immature, loser._

**.o.**

Naruto rushed down the hall as he pulled out his phone to check the time. _Damn it, it's already __7:10__! _At least he'd told Iruka that he would be late again. He had to work from 3 to 6:30, but he'd missed the bus because he left work a few minutes past schedule, so he'd ran the whole damn way to school!

Turning the corner, he slowed his pace to a calm walk, wiping at his brow to rid himself of sweat, and took a few deep breaths so he wouldn't be so red-faced at arriving. He breathed out slowly as he reached the large practice room and opened the door. He ducked his head and gave a small apology to Kurenai and Iruka as he sat at the piano and turned to them. It wasn't like anyone was actually playing. Everyone was warming up.

He waved his hand emphatically to Iruka and the professor looked over at him. «Was everyone waiting for me?» he asked shamefully.

"'Ah, don't worry about it, Naruto. I came a little late too,'" Iruka answered, gesturing slowly.

«Just as a fail-safe, then, is it alright if I have a window of 15 minutes for the next few weeks? I just came straight from work, and it'll be another month before they take me off the schedule for Mondays.»

Iruka tilted his head and placed his hand on his chin. "'I really would recommend that you be here from seven, but just try to come as early as possible.'"

Naruto nodded dutifully and then asked, «Have we started practicing yet?»

"'Oh, no; everyone was just warming up. We can start now, though.'"

That was a nice way of Iruka saying, 'We were waiting for you, and now that you're here, we can start.' He felt bad. He looked over at Temari and Kankuro and waved at the two excitedly with both hands.

Temari waved at him quickly and Kankuro gave a short nod of approval before he went back to cleaning his cello. The female started signing to him. «I hope it's okay, but we told Gaara your number. He's really swamped right now with schoolwork so I don't think he'll be able to meet up with you. But he should give you a text soon.»

Naruto beamed at the mention of the long time friend. He would do anything to reconnect with him! «After practice, tell me his number and I'll text him as soon as possible.»

«Sure thing!» Temari then pointed to Iruka to indicate to the other blond that the professor was starting to speak to them all. Hinata was going to start with her solo.

Naruto waved at Kurenai before she could give the small female the go-ahead, and when the professor turned to him, he asked, «Is it okay if I listen to Hinata?»

"Ah, Naruto wants to know if he can listen to her," Kankuro murmured to the professor for Naruto.

Kurenai pursed her lips in curiosity and then nodded. "I don't know how…but…sure…"

Naruto beamed in excitement, standing up from his seat and walking toward Hinata, who looked up at him from her seat. He caught Sasuke staring at him and gave the raven a short nod. Sasuke looked at him blankly and then returned the nod in kind with the quirk of his brow.

"'How, Naruto?'" Hinata asked.

«I did some quick research a couple of days ago just to see how I can listen to the violin and viola and harp and cello.» He turned to Temari. «Sorry, but it was really hard for me to find good info about listening to the flute.» Turning back to Hinata, he sat crossed-legged on the floor directly in front of the harp. He looked up at the sitting female and then continued, «From what I read, the bottom frame of the harp is a soundboard and soundbox, so…» He then placed his hands flat on the top of either side of the wide-bottomed soundboard. Looking back up at Hinata, he murmured quietly as possible, "I c'n feel't here."

"_Oh…_" the small female said in amazement, suddenly feeling somewhat pressured. "Y…you're making me f-feel nervous, N-Naruto," she blurted with a small blush. When Naruto tilted his head at her in question, she continued with a smile, "Now I absolutely c-can't m-mess up!"

Kurenai stared at the two in astonishment and grinned. "All the better, Hinata!"

Hinata looked at her professor and nodded assuredly. She then looked back down at Naruto and said, "O-okay, Naruto. I'm going to s-start."

Naruto nodded and then closed his eyes, pressing his cheek and shoulder against the pillar. Moments later, he felt the soundboard vibrate against his hands and he felt his insides quiver as she played. At one point, he opened his eyes and glanced up at her, and saw a strange look that she rarely wore. Always shy and afraid to speak up, Hinata looked extremely confident and sure of herself right now. He always saw her as timid, but seeing her this way made her extremely attractive. Her dexterous fingers plucked at the strings, and he couldn't help but close his eyes again and smile against the instrument as the vibrations traveled through his hands and in front of his closed eyes. The soundboard transferred the vibrations extremely well. He could even feel the higher notes, even though the vibrations were less noticeable.

The song in itself was beautiful, but Hinata's confidence stunned Naruto. Her surety made him see her differently. She loved her harp. They looked like lovers. Why did she have to give up music? Why did she and Neji have to give up something that they loved so much?

It wasn't fair.

When she finished, he opened his eyes and looked up at her, his inner distress already forgotten as he gave her a puckered smile. He stood up and clapped silently at her. «Wow, Hinata! That was awesome!»

Hinata smiled at Naruto and her cheeks reddened again.

"Alright," Kurenai said, standing from her seat. "Anyone's critique's would be welcomed." Hinata nodded, looking at her schoolmates. Kurenai told Hinata what measures to replay with some changes, and that in itself took nearly half an hour. Everyone's practice continued in like manner. By the time the end of practice had come, Naruto didn't even get a chance to play piano, same as the last practice. Neither he nor Sasuke got a chance to play their instruments.

He huffed silently. So he'd gone to Sasuke's house for no reason last night!

"Actually, guys," Iruka said, looking down at his watch. "If it would be alright, starting with the next practice, Kurenai and I think it would be better if we stay another hour. So from seven to ten. Is that alright with you all?" Everyone gave the professor the okay for the schedule change. With a smile, he gave a nod to his students. "Okay then, we'll meet as a group again on Thursday. I'll be seeing you."

Temari and Kankuro were quick to leave so they could catch their train, and Neji helped Hinata put her harp in its case.

Naruto stretched and then slung his bag over his shoulder. He waved at Neji and Hinata and left the practice room. Naruto seized for a moment and brought his hand up to his chest when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he tilted his body as he breathed out in relief. «Sasuke, you scared the crap out of me!» he said as he furrowed his brows.

Instead of acknowledging the comment, the raven asked Naruto, "'Are you working on Wednesday?'"

Naruto shook his head in answer. «I don't work on Wednesdays,» he replied. «And Iruka won't be able to have his lesson with me that day either, so my day is gonna be done at 2:30.» He gave the raven a wide smile and made a short dance. Sasuke nodded in understanding, eyes flitting downward for a moment. When Naruto's finger waggled in front of him endlessly in question, he looked at the blond.

«Why, why, why?» Naruto asked, afterwards bracing his hands against the straps of his backpack.

"'I wanted to know if you wanted to, nn…'" Sasuke paused, and Naruto kicked his head back slightly when the raven's hand reached for a dark lock of hair and twirled it around his finger _nervously. _Sasuke! Nervously! "W-Wanted to do s-something." Sasuke widened his eyes in mortification as he stuttered out the last part.

«Sasuke, you're acting weird,» Naruto said bluntly, staring at him warily. «Are you sick?»

"You should shut up," the raven mumbled to himself, not needing Naruto to advertise his awkwardness at the moment.

«What was that?» Naruto asked in question, not having understood what Sasuke said because he'd turned away slightly.

Sasuke looked back at Naruto with slight irritation. «Well do you want to do something?» he asked emphatically.

_Sweet! Another party! _Naruto canted his head to the side and pursed his lips in thought. «Do what?»

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head at the oblivious blond. _Damn him! He's so dense sometimes!_ «Anything!» he answered quietly, adding vigorously, «Watch a movie or go somewhere or something!»

«Movies,» Naruto answered. «Not at the theatre. 'Cause they don't have subtitles.»

Sasuke nodded in understanding.

«Can I come straight after class? We can get in like six movies maybe!» He then paused and put his hand on his chin, furrowing his brows. «Maybe I should bring a couple of movies?» he then asked. «Maybe I should bring something that Lee would like…Can I bring Kiba? He gets out of work at 5 this Wednesday!»

Sasuke widened his eyes at the unbelievably dense blond. Who the fuck said that Lee or Kiba or anyone else for that matter were going to be there? «No. It's just us two.»

Naruto widened his eyes in understanding. _Oh…oooh!_ He suddenly opened his mouth, pointing at Sasuke accusingly, and shouted, "Date?" and then quickly covered his mouth with his hands.

Sasuke rolled his eyes again long-sufferingly and resisted the urge to punch the blond. He gave Naruto an exasperated glare.

«A date, Sasuke?» Naruto repeated silently, gesturing wildly.

Sasuke quirked his lip at Naruto. "Whatever," he answered, shaking his head.

«Okay,» Naruto said slowly, finally understanding Sasuke's hesitance before. «Weird.» He then hummed softly in indecision. "Hmm…" _A date…? _He'd dated one girl before, but it hadn't ended well. He didn't even want to think about it.

But, this is what people in a _relationship_ do…right? Right. Weird, so now it was official. «Okay, we'll go after class,» Naruto said with finality. «But I'm not staying over at your house again!»

Sasuke shrugged. "Fair enough," he said.

«Okay.» He paused and then gave another hum. «Okay well I'm gonna go now.»

"Mm hmm," Sasuke muttered. Not that Naruto would hear it. He stared down at the blond, and Naruto up at him. _Hnh_. Okay.

- **Shizuka na Sonata-**

Neji looked out the window of the limousine as it made a turn that the driver shouldn't have made. "Where are we going?" he asked aloud, ready to lower the dividing window to ask the driver.

"Ah," Hinata began as she pulled nervously at a loose string on her dress. "I n-need to stop by a p-pet store to get s-something for Miyu."

Neji rolled his eyes. Her and that damned bird. "I don't understand why you get so many things for that bird," he murmured.

Hinata smiled. "It's…it's just a t-toy…"

"Whatever," Neji shrugged, looking out the window. The limousine drove for another ten minutes and finally came to a stop. Hinata unbuckled her belt and opened her door, stepping out. "N-Neji, are you coming?" she asked as she bent into the vehicle.

"Why would I?" he asked her, pulling his sack from the floor and putting it on the chair.

Hinata blinked at him and twirled her finger around that loose string again. "N…no reason," she stated before standing straight and shutting the door.

Neji clucked his tongue after a few given seconds and opened his door to step out, following her into the store. The two walked down toward the bird isle, and Neji offhandedly looked at a few of the exotic squawking, winged creatures flying about in their little cages. Hinata looked at each of the products carefully, finger placed at her chin in thought.

"Can I help you two—whoa! Hey!"

Neji and Hinata simultaneously turned and saw Kiba with a vibrantly colored reptile on his shoulder. The female gasped in at seeing the animal, taking a step back. "Ki-Kiba…!" she exclaimed.

Kiba put his hands on his hips and grinned. "In the flesh. It's been like a month or so since I've seen you guys! What's up?" he asked.

Neji nodded his head discreetly as a greeting. "Likewise," he answered. "Just shopping."

"Well I see that," Kiba grinned cheekily, hand going to his shoulder to stop the lizard from crawling under the collar of his shirt. "So you have a bird?" he surmised, seeing as they were looking at bird items. Hinata nodded, looking away from him. "What kind?" He gently grabbed the green lizard and played with it almost as if it were a toy as it wriggled about in his hands.

"A…a Red Factor c-canary…" Hinata answered slowly, lowering her eyes.

Neji cleared his throat and murmured, "I'm going to look at the other animals." The words didn't register to either of them, so he simply shook his head hopelessly and walked to the next isle over, still within hearing distance.

"Oh, that's a really small bird," Kiba answered with a nod. "Kind of cute and energetic…" he added quietly, placing his free hand on the back of his neck. Hinata nodded, and he rubbed the back of his neck tensely, tilting his head. "S-sort of fitting for you…" he finished, grunting uneasily.

"Wh…no…!" Hinata murmured in shock, hand covering her cheek. _Is…is he calling me—_

Kiba quickly realized what it _sounded _like he was implying and started, "Well, 'cause you know! You're small. And…er…" he looked away for a short moment, and the animal in Kiba's hand gave a raspy whistle. Deciding to curtail where the conversation could possibly be heading, he said, "Ah, so…what, uh, what are you looking for? For the bird, that is."

"Something p-playful," Hinata quickly answered. She skittered away from him when he took a step closer to her to look at some of the products. "What _is _that?" she finally asked out of curiosity, pointing at the active lizard.

"Hmm? Oh this?" Kiba asked, raising his hand with the lizard. He stroked the small crown of the lizard and smiled when it gave a high hum. "It's a blue-tailed day gecko." He held his hand a little closer to her and she took a small step back with a little 'Anh…' He smiled at her reaction. "It won't bite. They're extremely docile. The most it'll do is lick you, especially if you have something sweet on your hand. You wanna touch it…?" he asked hesitantly, rubbing the bright green chin of the lizard with his index finger.

Hinata gave a hesitant step forward. The reptile gave a little screech when Kiba gently jerked it toward her encouragingly. "Nn…" Hinata whimpered. "It's…it's…very pretty…and I'm n-not _afraid _of it. J-Just a little…a little nervous. I've never t-touched one before." She then pointed out her index finger stiffly and then poked the small reptile, gasping and pulling back when it quickly crawled around Kiba's hand and chirped.

"Here," Kiba cajoled, taking her hand. Both of them paused. She made a little hitched sound, but then he pulled her hand forward lightly, putting her hand palm up. "Okay, I'm just going to put it on your hand, but don't freak out, okay?" he asked.

"O-okay. Okay," she said with large nods, reassuring herself of her nerves. She hummed again nervously.

Kiba paused, beaming at her widely. "Don't drop 'im. And don't squeeze 'im hard either," he added.

"Okay, okay," Hinata repeated, closing her eyes as he lowered the lizard to her hand. Then she felt light flitters on her hand. "_Oh_," she gasped in surprise, opening her eyes. "My g-goodness, it feels extremely...w-weird," she murmured, wrinkling her nose. "It t-tickles." She froze when Kiba bent toward her, mumbling incoherent babble to the lizard as it canted its little head. "Ah, ah!" It started crawling up her hand, and she twitched, trying to stop it from crawling on her arm. "_Kiba_ take—"

Kiba scooped up the lizard quickly before Hinata's hand could regain the motor skills to fling the animal off of her. "Ah, dangerous," he muttered as he slicked his hair back (and yet, the tresses went straight up again). _She nearly threw it!_ "Uh, about your bird," he sighed.

"I'm—I'm sorry…!" Hinata peeped.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Kiba said cheerfully. "You're ultra brave. Most girls wouldn't even _touch_ it much less get this close to it."

(Be mindfully aware, Neji was still within hearing distance, and he scoffed at the exchange between the two of them. He knew Hinata to be shy in general, but the last he remembered, Kiba was a bit energetic, not mellow, like he was acting right now.)

When Kiba finished helping Hinata find a suitable toy and bird food about ten or so minutes later, the two of them headed toward the front of the store. "So, Miyu, was it?" he asked her as he carried the box.

Hinata nodded. "It-it's…_sort _of short for 'Muse,'" she explained, saying the English word.

"_Muse_?" Kiba repeated. "As in, from Greek mythology?"

"Y…yes! Oh, you kn-know…!" Hinata said in quiet surprise.

"Well, I may look dumb, but I've got a lot up in my noggin'!" Kiba grinned, pointing to his head.

Hinata blushed, looking down. "Oh, I…I didn't mean to make you sound d-dumb," she murmured apologetically. "It's just that…that people don't usually g-get it…"

"Ah, d-don't worry about it, Hinata," Kiba stuttered, feeling terrible for upsetting Hinata. "I was just kiddin'," he finished with the wave of his hand.

Hinata merely nodded. "Ah—so…" she mumbled. She needed to find something to talk about. Something that the two of them had in common. _Oh, _right! "I'm very happy for Naruto."

"Hmm?" Kiba asked as they turned the corner.

"W…well, you know. He really seems to be…getting very…very comfortable around us. Li-like he's not afraid to…to be h-himself with all of us."

"Yeah, when he really opens up to people, he has no bars, you know?" Kiba said quietly. And how would he know lately…? He and Naruto barely spent any time together anymore. They were both ghosts in one apartment; they almost never saw each other, but most certainly knew of each other's presence by a left behind meal or a small mess. It was a terribly surreal feeling. Text messages only went so far.

"And he really loves m-music."

Kiba came back to the conversation. "Yeah, he definitely does. This was a great move for him to break out of his shell."

Hinata nodded. "And I'm g-glad that he's c-comfortable enough with us to t-talk to us."

"Well of course he'd talk to you," Kiba said, looking down at Hinata.

"Oh, d-does he t-talk to you more at home?" she asked curiously. She looked down slightly and pinched her chin again in thought. "I wonder i-if he talks a lot more at home," she murmured to herself, Kiba still able to hear her. "Maybe he's still not _that _c-comfortable with us."

Kiba tilted his head and pursed his lips in thought. "Well, we barely see each other because both of our schedules are so fu—" he paused. Agh, his mouth. "Er…_extremely_ busy, but we text each other. That's the most we've talked lately."

"Oh, no," Hinata started, stopping Kiba. "I mean _t-talking_ to Naruto. You m-must be glad that Naruto is," she tapped her neck, "_s-speaking_." She looked back down and stood at the counter, where a young cashier took her small bag of bird food. She smiled. "But h-he's been more w-willing to speak to us. Verbally. I'm sure you're g-glad about it too."

Kiba slowly placed the box on the counter. "What…?" he asked slowly, grabbing gently at the lizard that had once again climbed up his arm.

Neji, who'd been trailing behind the both of them for a while, cleared his throat and caught up to his cousin. "Hinata," he began hurriedly. "Are you done?" He glanced at Kiba, and noticed his completely stiffened stature.

"Are you saying," Kiba started, throat clenching. His mouth went dry, and it seemed that any and all bodily fluids was slowly ascending, first to his nose, making it pinch painfully, and then to his eyes. He tried to clear his throat, but couldn't manage to suppress the rasp that his voice came out as, as if someone had taken sand paper and just grated his insides. It certainly felt like it. "You're saying that Naruto has been _speaking_ to you lately?"

Hinata nodded offhandedly, reaching for her wallet when she was told the total.

Neji glanced at Kiba and came to a harrowing realization. _He doesn't know._

"Well, from time to t-time," Hinata admitted happily. "It's r-rare, but it _does_ come out…"

"Hinata," Neji started warningly.

"I think S-Sasuke encouraged him a lot," she frowned thoughtfully, unable to look at Kiba out of sheer awkwardness. "Those two are _very_ c-close," she finished, cheeks flitting red. Last night, when she and Neji left the practice room, Naruto and Sasuke were very _heavily, _ah, kissing.

There was a loud keeling, a gruff whir of noise, and Kiba snapped to attention when the lizard in his hand gnawed at his finger in obvious displeasure. He hissed slightly and then looked at Neji and Hinata strangely. He'd squeezed the animal a little too tightly.

"Ki…Kiba…are you alright…? Hinata asked, noting Kiba's paleness.

"I'm…I'm alright," Kiba lied. "I'm okay." And yet, something in him felt gutted, lacking. He felt sick.

Finally, Neji intervened. "Hinata, go to the car."

"Wh…why…?" Hinata asked. She took a step back when Neji turned to her and gave her a demanding stare. "O…okay," she let out. She quickly turned and left the store.

Neji turned to Kiba. "You didn't know…" he said.

"What…did she mean by close…?" he asked slowly, confident that his body fluids would stay in check, confident that his face wouldn't turn red. "How close are we talking…?"

Neji wasn't extremely cold by nature, nor was he incredibly warm, but sometimes he had a way of saying things that could be somewhat heartless, a bit unsympathetic. "We don't know the full spectrum of the situation. But they're definitely going out."

Kiba blinked at Neji and swallowed, looking away for a moment. "How fucking long?" he whispered.

Neji smoothed back his long, dark hair. He prided himself in being able to keep his cool all the time, but even he had to admit that there was something pinching his stomach right now. "They only admitted it yesterday," he answered guiltily. "But I suspect about…two, maybe three weeks."

Why had Naruto never told Kiba? And yet, Neji had no right to think about that, because he didn't know how close Kiba and Naruto were. He felt invasive, like he and Hinata had treaded on sacred ground between two friends.

Kiba clenched his jaws and sucked in his breath. His hand returned to his scalp, clenching tightly at the hair follicles, tightly at the roots. "Fuck," he finally whispered, eyes switching to and fro. "_Fuck…_" He had to think back. Okay. Saturday night, when he'd messaged Naruto, worried beyond belief because he wasn't home, Naruto'd been at Sasuke's place. The next night, Naruto messaged him and told him that he was going to Sasuke's place _again_ for practice.

"Kiba—"

"Don't talk right now, man. Gimme a sec," Kiba said, leaning against the counter. "I'm trying my best right now not to fucking explode. _Shit._"

Kiba wasn't angry, Neji could tell. He was in turmoil. Hesitantly, he gave the brunet a slap on the arm encouragingly and grabbed the bag with Hinata's purchase, heading out the store.

Kiba shook his head and looked at his watch. It wouldn't be for another hour that he would be done with work and go home so that he could interpret Jiraiya's radio interview for Naruto. So he had an hour to sort out his emotions. Within said hour, Naruto text messaged him. He looked at the phone and sighed. 'Hey, I'm home now, 'kay? You definitely can't be late, 'kay?'

Kiba answered the text as unassumingly as possible. 'Sweet, no prob, dude! I'm almost done with my shift. I'll see you later, man,' he answered. Sometimes, messages were easier than face to face conversations. One could lie and say they were fine. One could be sarcastic. One could be angry. It was really strange how technology could mask an emotion.

But when he arrived at the apartment a good hour and a half later, he had to steel himself before he opened the door. He had to smack his cheek and put on a grin. He unlocked the door and stepped into the apartment, giving Naruto a wave. The blond was already sitting on the couch, legs curled, as he typed away at his laptop on the coffee table.

Naruto looked over at the door when extra light flooded into the apartment, and clicked open the radio streamer. He waved enthusiastically to Kiba and signed, «Dude, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever! It's sad that this is the only time we can really catch up!»

Kiba nodded silently, rubbing his eyes.

Naruto wagged his finger at him. «What's up? You beat from work?» he asked.

Kiba shook his head. "No, I just have something on my mind is all," he answered aloud, pulling out his phone to check the time.

Naruto grinned wickedly and signed. «I'm all ears, dude.»

Kiba chuckled silently at the ironic comment. It was only 4:05—he had time to talk a little before the interview. But he didn't want to talk for only a small amount of time. He needed time to sort things out. Right now, though, he wanted to take a long shower. He waved his hand to Naruto until he got the blonde's attention. «I'm cool,» he returned in answer to the proposition. «Maybe later. I just wanna take a shower right now.»

Naruto nodded and returned to the computer, deciding on playing a game until the brunet would return. _It's been almost a month since we've had time to actually sit in the same room at the same time, _he thought. And within that span of time, a lot of things had changed. A lot of things happened. With Sasuke. With school. And with his speech. How much would it hurt Kiba to know that he was left out of all of those things? After nearly being womb-friends, why was it _now _that they were growing so far apart? After all the maturing, why the change now?

_I have to tell Kiba_. And yet, where could he start? How could he explain some things…? He gnawed on his lip anxiously. Even yesterday after practice…he and Sasuke hadn't hesitated for very long until they were making out in the _school hall_. He was becoming braver and more daring.

The brunet was showered and changed in about twenty minutes, which was, in retrospect, a very long time for Kiba to have finished up. When he returned and sat on the couch in front of the lab top, he gave a small huff.

_Okay, don't have enough time to tell him…_ Naruto thought as he looked over at Kiba. _But…I could give him a warning. _He waved his hand at his distracted friend. When Kiba looked over at him, he started slowly, «Kiba, we have some stuff to talk about. Like seriously.»

Kiba's stomach pinched again. _Is he going to tell me? _he wondered. "'About what?'" he asked dumbly. The radio hostess said a few things, and he held up his finger in a halting motion at Naruto. «Can you turn up the volume? I think the interview is about to start,» he asked silently.

Naruto nodded and found the volume control, keeping his eye on Kiba so that he could make it at a suitable volume. «Is it starting?» Naruto asked enthusiastically, smiling.

Kiba nodded, momentarily setting aside any negative sentiments in favor of the excitement of hearing Jiraiya's interview.

_"So now we have an interesting guest calling in with us,_" the hostess began. _"Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview with us, Mr. Sennin."_

_"Well you're quite welcome," _the muffled voice answered. Jiraiya was talking to the hostess via telephone.

_"Now tell us, because we're very interested to hear about this book that you have written! In case you listeners are wondering, Mr. Gama Sennin is under an alias, and he absolutely won't relinquish a single clue as to where he lives or who he actually is! It's extremely frustrating, because a lot of people are actually very touched by your story!"_

_"Well I'm glad to hear that it's reached people's hearts."_

_"So, first of all, tell us about the title of this book, 'Silent Sonata'."_

_"Well, I thought that the title would be very fitting, given the content of this book. I chose an English title because of the meaning of the second word, Sonata. Sonata is a musical term for pieces that are played on a large scale."_

_"Right, right. Now, from what I've heard, this book is actually a collection of short stories that you posted on an online blog for several years all fused in one book."_

_"Yes. It's been about five years that I've been blogging snippets of this story. Oh, can I ask a favor, Ms. Miyage?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Can you please talk a little slower? There are two special people that I am sure are listening to this interview, and it would be best that we talk a little slower."_

Naruto tilted his head curiously as Kiba interpreted.

_"Oh, surely, Mr. Sennin. Please, tell us about this book. From what I have heard, it touches on the subject of fatherhood and something else that the listeners will find very interesting. What inspired you to write it? Also, it is dedicated to, and I quote: 'A wild spirit that never quits.' Please, let us in a little on this."_

_"Well, the book is basically about Nobuo, a man who is suddenly thrust into fatherhood by a series of rather unfortunate events, narrating the changes, misfortunes, fears, struggles, insecurities, and terrifying experiences of his newly charged son, Hikaru."_

_"Wow. It sounds daunting. Are you a father, Mr. Sennin?"_

_"I really can't reveal that, Ms. Miyage."_

_"Understood. Can we assume that this is written from personal experience, Mr. Sennin?"_

_"Ah, Ms. Miyage, you ask too much of me. Where's the suspense? But in all honesty, I do have **some** experience to really make this man as engaging as possible."_

_"You're saying that at least **some** of your personal experience is in this book."_

_"…Well, many of my personal **expressions** are in this book, actually. I'll only give you that much, Ms. Miyage. You're too good." _

_"Why thank you. Now, tell us about the child, Hikaru, please."_

_"Yes, well…**Hikaru**…is in a life-changing accident in which he looses both his parents and barely makes it out alive himself. Unfortunately, he is crippled for life. Society really deals a heavy hand and a blind eye toward people who are different."_

_"Yes, it's very unfortunate but true. There is sometimes no justice for people who are different."_

_"Yes, indeed."_

_"Now the title is once again 'Silent Sonata'. Can I ask you, what is the target audience for this book?"_

_"To be honest, it's something that anyone can read. Man or woman, youth or elder. But I really think that this is more geared towards a demographic of people in their late teens and early twenties. You know, it's terrifying, but these are the leaders of tomorrow. They're the only ones that are really going to make a difference in our society. Unfortunately, we have become so steeped in tradition that we judge people so much, and this is something that we've passed onto our children. There is no 'spirit of the law' or the path of humanity. Everything is taken by the rules. This story shows someone who challenges those rules. Young people can really learn from this."_

_"That sounds extremely powerful, Mr. Sennin."_

_"I certainly hope so!"_

_"So, Mr. Sennin, what made you decide to write this story? What influenced you?"_

_"Well, I hadn't ever intended on releasing this to any press, to be honest. I just wrote for five years about things that I had observed just through, ah…watching people. Readers always seemed to leave me these comments about how they were growing with the short stories. Before I knew it, almost tens of thousands people were supporting me, including people living outside of __Japan__. What I felt was that this book could really make a difference in someone's life. I want to be a part of that. Also, to the person that this book is dedicated to, it was very difficult for me to ever say some of the things that are said in this story, and when they read it, I really want them to feel like, 'Wow, this is how he felt.' I wanted to express to that person everything that I had never been able to say."_

_"Hmm. So, the person you dedicated this book to—please, tell us a little about him or her? You said that two people in particular are listening to this interview, two special people."_

_"I would much rather not, if that would be okay."_

_"No imposition, Mr. Sennin. I do have a favor, though. Would it be alright of you to read an excerpt from your book to the audience? Something to whet our appetite?"_

_"An excerpt? Hmm. That's fine. Okay. Let me find a page. Okay here. Ready?"_

_"Yes, we're shaking with anticipation, here!"_

**"I could never stop thinking about how amazing it was, how haunting it was, to see such a rowdy, active young boy resting so still. Not a sound from him. Not a smile from him. Not a movement. And this wasn't for just one day. No. Not just two or three days. Day after day I and his best friend came to visit him. Day after day we played music for him. We read to him. We talked to him. And day after day, it became more and more difficult to look at his tanned skin fading, his dark veins, always hidden under that coppery skin, surfacing as he grew lighter and weaker. He was a person that loved being in the sun. He loved to run. He loved to sit in the sun-room in his house and paint or play music. He loved life. He shouldn't have been this way.**

**If I could have, I would have gladly switched places with him. If it could make everything continue the right way for him, I would have it no other way.**

**Two weeks. It was nothing short of a miracle when his best friend saw his finger twitch two weeks later. Henceforth, he would pepper our tasteless days with another twitch, another movement, and then finally blessed our patience and pain by opening his gorgeous eyes. After a week and a half of teasing us (he was such a brat, and he loved playing practical jokes on us, but this was no joke, and yet he teased us), he woke up for good, and I and his best friend were there as soon as possible.**

**Gentle. We had to be gentle, because this boy who could stand up for himself, who was a burst of power, was so fragile now. And what we saw in his eyes, what _I_ saw in his eyes, was the worst way that a child could look at an adult. Haunted. Frightened.**

**_Where are my parents_****? the glassy eyes said. _Why is it that you two are here and not my parents? _But instead of asking that question, asking what I'd expected him to ask (and yet, when did he ever do what I expected of him? I expected him to wake up right away after the accident, and that took three and a half weeks), he said to the two of us, "It's so quiet."**

**I felt something in me freeze. My heart sank lower into my stomach, boiling and being eaten away by this sudden truth. Tests later showed that the head trauma was too extensive. He couldn't hear us. He was trapped in his own world. And it was one thing on top of another, layer on top of layer of this terrible, new life feeding him his new reality. He lost his parents, his hearing, and he was in spinal shock, so his ability to feel anything below his waist was gone until god knows when. Maybe forever.**

**His devastation was clear. Now, a week and a half later, he's moved in with me. If anything were to ever happen to his father and mother, I was to become his permanent guardian. And yet, as I watch this child, my new son, sitting on his wheelchair in front of the window doing nothing and understandably unmotivated, vanishing more and more everyday because he can't hear the leaves rustling or a bird chirping, or feel the cold, wet earth under his feet in his desire to just run and run and run away from everything, or hear me telling him everyday that I'm sorry and that I want to make everything right and that I love him, I never released that fatherhood could be such a terrifying thing."**

_"Wow, Mr. Sennin. That was so moving! What part of the book is that?"_

_"It's a huge chunk of the second chapter of the book."_

_"So short?"_

_"Yes, all of the chapters are extremely short. It's…sort of like a journal."_

_"Understood. Wow, my heart is beating so hard just hearing that. Can you hear the shiver in my voice? Everyone listening can probably hear it."_

_"Yes, I can."_

_"Well, we're about to wrap up this interview, Mr. Sennin. Would you like to say something in particular to the two special people listening in on the interview?"_

_"Hmm. Just that I love you both. And…to you-know-who in particular, I wrote this book to save you. I wrote this book because I want to save you from your darkness."_

_"And there we have it. Thank you very much, Mr. Sennin, for taking out some time to talk with us. It was a real pleasure."_

_"You're welcome. Have a good evening."_

_"So, be sure to pick up this much anticipated book, Silent Sonata, from the bookshelves when it comes out next month on the 22nd. To all the young people listening, don't hesitate to get your copy. Next, what we have on our program is…"_

Naruto stared at Kiba, light-headed and yet he could feel his heart beating painfully in his chest. The description of this book…the way Jiraiya described the main characters…and even the excerpt that he read.

It was _all_ directly from experience. He'd told the hostess that he wrote some of the things from his experience of watching people. But in fact, he was writing about himself and Naruto. This book was about him. Jiraiya wrote a book about _him._ He swallowed with difficulty and blinked at Kiba again. He stared at his friend, who looked as confused as Naruto. «Did you know about this, Kiba…?»

Kiba slowly shook his head. «I swear, I didn't know about this, Naruto.» What was Jiraiya doing?

Naruto nodded wordlessly. He tilted his head in thought, and then said slowly. «I want to read it…»

"Me too," Kiba murmured aloud.

The blond paused and then lifted his hands, looking back at the computer screen and not at his friend. «But I'm a little, you know. Scared. To read it.» He shook his head in confusion. _Why did Jiraiya write a book about me…? What are the things he wanted to tell me that he'd never been able to say before? Save me from my darkness? _He really wanted to read the book. He pulled out his phone and messaged Jiraiya. 'It's about me…?'

Moments later, Jiraiya responded. 'I didn't want to tell you before. I published this book for a very specific purpose.'

'And what would that purpose be?' Naruto messaged him, somewhat irritated even though he couldn't place why.

'You'll find out soon enough, Naruto. Just be patient.'

Naruto sighed and answered the message quickly. When his phone vibrated again in his hand, he flipped it open. It was Chouji. 'I know you said you'd be in late today, Naruto, but Dad is just wondering when?'

Naruto glanced at the time, and then at Kiba, still unable to stop thinking about the book. 'I'll be there in about 15,' he responded. He then closed the phone and looked at Kiba, clapping his hand until he got the brunet's attention. «I have to go to work. I'm sorry. I'll see you later, 'kay?»

Kiba stared at the blond for a short moment and then shook his head unnoticeably. He knew this would happen. He _knew_ that Jiraiya's interview would distract Naruto. He _knew_ that Naruto would leave without saying anything.

And yet, he felt somewhat selfish for feeling angry. He and Naruto were friends since he could remember. They'd never kept secrets from each other, and they'd never fail to tell each other _first_, before anyone else, how they felt about something, or what they intended to do about something possibly life-altering. But what was this right now? Why was Naruto keeping this from him? If it were minor, it wouldn't be something to whine about.

But the fact that Naruto was verbally speaking in front of his friends and not to him—after everything that happened, after the anguish, after standing behind Naruto every step of his way, always being there when he was needed, essentially a support—was he no longer needed, merely a crutch to be done away with after the healing? Were they really growing that far apart…? And yet, if this was what Naruto wanted, if this was really happening, he wouldn't push it. When Naruto was ready to talk to him, he would talk to him. He knew his best friend enough to know that.

Kiba planted a smile on his face and responded, "'Sure, man. I'll see ya later.'"

Naruto picked up his bag and gave Kiba a short wave. _I need to tell him everything._

**.**

**.o.**

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**Comment : **Thank you for reading.


	22. Part III: A Hymn

**Comment: **So, you guys don't know how encouraging most of you were in your reviews. Please enjoy this long chapter.

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**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**A Hymn**

**.o.**

**.**

Naruto had reached a conclusion: something was bothering Sasuke. Something was causing the raven to act more distant than possibly Naruto had ever seen him. Mind you, this _something _happened within the span of less than 24 hours. Everything about his demeanor said so. Sasuke took notes distractedly during class. He'd barely touched his food, let alone spoke at the table. When Ino had asked Naruto what was wrong with Sasuke, the blond could only reply honestly.

He didn't know _what _it was, let alone if it was his _fault. _

So…_was _it his fault? Because as far as he knew…he was the last person to see Sasuke since yesterday. While they were taking the bus, Sasuke said nothing, and Naruto spent the whole time trying to read Sasuke's body language—see if he was annoyed, angry, upset, or _anything_ damn it! But Naruto came to realize something in the bus.

Sasuke was incredibly talented at masking his emotions. He was like a wall. He gave nothing away.

Now, as they walked into the elevator, Naruto looked askance at the blank Uchiha. It was beginning to be too much. This was supposed to be a 'date,' right? Dates weren't supposed to make the other party feel awkward, right? Because Naruto felt _incredibly_ awkward.

Naruto waved his hand at Sasuke. He waggled his finger at the raven. He even clapped. Nothing. Damn it, what the fuck was wrong with Sasuke? Finally, he tried his hand at something else. "Sass'ge…" he said. Hopefully it was quietly. Sasuke crossed his arms and placed the tip of his foot on his other foot, leaning against the metallic wall. "_Sass'ge_!"

Sasuke turned to Naruto quickly, and Naruto felt as if he'd just interrupted some silent battle that the raven was having with himself for _hours._ "Hnh?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto lowered his eyes and gave the raven a disbelieving, curious stare. «You're going to say 'hnh?' like you haven't been distant with everyone all day…?» he asked.

The elevator came to a stop at that moment and Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and tightened his hands around his instruments as he walked out. In the hallway, just before they reached the stairs, Naruto halted the raven with a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke tightened his lips and turned around, staring down at Naruto. _Damn it._

Naruto furrowed his brows at the raven and breathed out heavily. «What the fuck is going on?»

Sasuke paused and looked down at the curious blond. Squinting, he opened his mouth, as if ready to say something, anything, _everything_, and instead breathed in deeply and passed his fingers through his hair indecisively. He gave the blond a stare, and Naruto felt somewhat stripped and exposed by the raven's dark grey eyes. It was like Sasuke could see everything inside of him, grab on to his insides, his mind, distant memories, secrets, things shrouded in darkness.

Naruto stepped back carefully when Sasuke looked over the blonde's shoulder slightly, eyeing nothing in particular but a speck of stained paint on the wall before gluing his eyes to the other male again. It was strange. When the raven loosened his hold on his violin, letting it touch the floor and lean against the wall, Naruto blinked at him peculiarly and worried his lip between two teeth before murmuring again, "Sass'ge…"

Sasuke suddenly reached his hand up and placed it at the crook of the blonde's neck. He took a moment to peer at Naruto, read something, thumb inadvertently sliding over a vein because his distracted mind was wrapped around only one thought.

Naruto's stomach pinched and his eyes began to wander around the empty hall in uneasiness, unused to the feeling of someone touching him so intimately. He wanted to pull away. He was terrified, and he couldn't understand why, but something about the way Sasuke was holding his neck was just so desperate that it was impossible for him to do so. When Sasuke's thumb flickered over a pale scar on his cheek, a door in Naruto's mind shut, and he automatically moved to recoil from the raven.

Instead, Sasuke's hand tightened and he forcefully pulled Naruto toward him until the blonde's face was smothered in his shirt, his body flush against his.

_What is going on…? _Naruto thought. Sasuke was acting too strange. So he placed his hand against the raven's chest to push him away, but Sasuke's other hand wrapped tight around his back. Something was wrong. This wasn't right. This wasn't Sasuke.

But when Naruto felt air puffing at his hair, ears tingling at the sensation of someone uttering words that he couldn't hear, nothings, he knew that Sasuke said something to him. And he knew it was important. Sasuke didn't want him to hear it, but he wanted to say it to Naruto. And just when he was starting to get used to the feeling of being so close to Sasuke, the other male finally let him go.

Naruto scratched his tingling ear and furrowed his brows at Sasuke. «What just happened?» he asked after a moment.

Sasuke shook his head tiredly and bent down to grab his other instrument. "Nothing," he said when he was facing Naruto again. "I needed to get that out."

«But…it was weird…» Naruto signed carefully, hands clasping at his bag strap.

Sasuke grinned at Naruto mischievously and said quietly, «Just wait your turn. I'll be here and I won't ask questions.»

Naruto quirked his brow at Sasuke and curled his lip. «Okay,» he answered simply. He curled suddenly when his stomach bubbled and growled, missing the snort that Sasuke made at the obnoxious sound.

"Food first. Movies later," Sasuke said before he turned and walked to the stairs. Naruto followed behind him closely. When they got to the apartment, Naruto placed his bag near the couch and headed quickly to the kitchen. Sasuke pulled out some food from the frigidaire, popped some in the microwave, and went to the cabinet to pull out a couple of bowls. Setting the things on the table, he signed quickly, «Chopsticks are in the top drawer over there.»

Naruto pursed his lips quickly and turned slightly, getting two pairs of chopsticks out and sitting back at the table, handing Sasuke a pair. He watched as Sasuke rolled his neck and reached a hand lithely over his back, scratching at a small itch as he sat down near the blond. Tilting his head, he worried his lip for a short moment before waving his hand at Sasuke.

"What?" Sasuke asked, taking a quick second to glance at the microwave to see how much time was left before the food would finish.

«If it's too invasive, let me know…» the blond started slowly. «But…after…you know, everything that happened to you, what did you do?»

Sasuke paused for a moment and furled his brows at Naruto, body stiffening. His back straightened and he instantly had a distanced expression on his face. It was a part of his past that he wasn't proud of. At all. «I lost it,» he answered. «And it's not something I want to remember.»

It was Naruto's turn to lower his brows. He took a moment to think over the short sentence, head tilting in different directions until finally he answered slowly, «Okay then.» The room was then consumed with an odd silence, one in which Naruto tried to think of something to strike a conversation with Sasuke. They needed to change the subject.

The microwave beeped, but Sasuke didn't flinch in the direction of it. He looked down indecisively before saying. "'I'd lost respect in myself.'" He couldn't look at Naruto. Maybe, if he talked and didn't look at Naruto, it wouldn't be as bad. He made a face of disgust, shaking his head before running his fingers through his hair, replaying scenes in his mind that he'd hoped were erased from his memory. Finally he looked at Naruto and said quietly, "I was disgusting. Worse than garbage."

Naruto didn't know what to say in response to the statement. He didn't know in what context Sasuke was making that statement, so he decided to engage the raven with a neutral response.

"'For a good three years, I didn't do anything with my life. I just got involved in things that…'" he stopped again for a short moment and breathed out shakily, looking away from Naruto. A few seconds later, he glanced up at something insignificant on the wall. Hands lifting, he gestured quietly, «It's surprising that I'm alive today.» Nodding, he repeated, looking down, «It's surprising…»

Naruto leaned back in his chair after a while of silence between the two. Finally, he waved his hand at the other male until slate grey eyes fixed onto his. Hit with a painful, gut-wrenching feeling, he muttered almost incoherently, "Y'don' haf t'tell me, Sass'ge…"

Sasuke nodded slightly. He breathed in deeply and leaned forward in his seat, elbow on the table, chin propped up in his hand. He pulled his seat closer to Naruto and repeated the stance for a few seconds. Able to tell that Naruto was somewhat uncomfortable by how the blond leaned toward the table and repeatedly curled a slender finger around the drawstring on his sweater, he dislodged his hand from underneath his chin. Reaching forward, he fixed his elbow on the tabletop and curled his hand around the blonde's neck. And for a few seconds, his thumb firmly massaged the bone behind Naruto's ear.

Naruto, in return, could only sit frozen, unable to decide if he should react in some way, move forward, or pull away, or what. But then there was an earth shattering moment, a stomach quivering moment, that he could only stare at Sasuke with a lost expression, head slightly tilting, because the corners of the raven's lips turned upward in what he could only surmise as genuine, fond, appreciation. It was altogether an awe-inspiring and yet terrifying expression to see on Sasuke.

And all he could see being said on Sasuke's lips was something akin to, 'You amaze me.' He shivered and flicked his hand to Sasuke's, dislodging the digits from his person and leaning away a bit. This physical interaction was wholly uncomfortable and awkward. Everything about today was _awkward_.

Sasuke, as if the actions he'd just made had never transpired, continued, "I was starting to crash, you know? Emotionally, mentally, physically. I was starting to get tired of being what I was. Ino jokes around about it now, but when she says that she's surprised that you and I have only kissed, it's for a reason. I'd used bad avenues to channel my emotions. I was lost, but I didn't know…how to get away from everything. If it hadn't been for Sakura, and essentially Ino and later Lee…"

Naruto squinted at Sasuke in question and then held his breath when Sasuke reached up and curled a tress of hair around his finger. It was a habit that he was starting to catch onto. «Sasuke,» he started. «You and Sakura…you two were close, weren't you…?»

Sasuke took in a large breath, picking up one of the chopsticks and twirling it between his fingers. He gave a solemn nod at the question.

«Did you two…» Naruto started again. _Oh god…_ He was consumed by a thick, acidic sense of justice for Sakura. From what he understood about Sasuke's evasive past, the raven had used sex among other means as his escape. Slowly, somewhat angrily, he asked, «How could you use her like that?»

"'We both used each other. She hated that her mother remarried, as if her original father's death didn't mean anything. We both connected. We've only been close friends since then. Nothing more. Without her, I wouldn't have realized how much I…I'd missed playing music…'"

He thought back on a certain incident with Sakura.

_She exited the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel, walked over to Sasuke, who sat on the couch. She stared at the back of his head before she passed him, sitting on the piano bench. She picked up a dusty viola and plucked at a string. "Is this your brother's?" she suddenly asked him._

_Sasuke looked over at her. "It's mine. Put it down."_

_Sakura paused. "I've never heard you play it. Are you good?" she questioned._

_"Sakura," Sasuke stated warningly._

_Instead of answering him, she picked up the bow that was laying by the instrument and dragged it across the strings noisily after lifting the instrument to her chin. It sounded like she was trying to play something, but couldn't get her fingering right with the instrument. "I played the violin for three weeks before I gave it up," she laughed as she dropped the bow. "Viola is deeper. It has a darker, sadder tone."_

_Sasuke merely sighed._

_"When my father died, I'd wished I could have played something at his funeral. All I could do was cry. I felt useless."_

_Sasuke turned to her, sitting straighter on the couch. "There's a famous piano piece by Chopin that he wanted to be played at his funeral for when he died. It's simple. I could show you how to play it on the viola."_

_Sakura looked over at him and then tapped her shoulder with the bow. "Let me hear it," she said. "I want to hear it."_

_Sasuke stood up and walked over to her.  
_

Naruto stared at Sasuke and shivered. Lifting his hands, he signed slowly, «I feel strange.»

_Really_? Sasuke thought, giving Naruto an incredulous look. _I'm the one who just revealed just about every shameful thing about my past and __**you're **__the one that feels strange?_ "Tell me how that works," he retorted with a touch of irritation.

«Because,» Naruto started, «I don't know what to say to you right now. It'd be weird for me to say something cheesy like, 'I'm sorry,' because it's something that's already passed. I wasn't there when all of this happened, so I feel like a bystander.»

Instead of voicing his thoughts on the comment (something on the lines of, "I could say the same about you."), Sasuke lowered his eyes for a moment, propped his chin in his hand, and gave a low hum. He looked back up at Naruto when the blond knocked his knuckle gently against the table, raising his brows in question.

Waving his hand at Sasuke, Naruto started, «Uh, is the food done yet…?»

Sasuke got up from his seat to get the food from the microwave.

**.o.**

Naruto stretched on the couch as the credits of the movie began to roll. Turning to Sasuke, he grinned. «It was a good movie, wasn't it?» he asked.

Sasuke cleared his throat and lowered his hand from his chin, leaning back on the cushion. "It was…hnh…_decent_," he lied.

Naruto curled his lip at the raven's outright lie. _Yeah right! Decent my __**ass**__! _Throughout half of the movie, Sasuke was leaning forward with his hand over his mouth in sheer concentration. He was _totally_ into it! «You lie. You know it was good! The first time I saw the movie, I didn't expect the French guy to die! I thought he actually got away!»

Sasuke canted his head slightly and said, "'It was predictable.'"

Naruto clenched his lips and sat back in the couch, shaking his head. «You're in denial, Sasuke,» he retorted. After a few seconds, he realized, «We've only watched my movies,» mentally going over the titles of all of his foreign movies. «_You _have anything good?»

Sasuke stood up and stretched before opening his cabinet and pointing to it. "'You can look at what's in here. I have to go to the bathroom.'"

Naruto sprang from the couch and bounded to the shelves of DVDs, thumbing through the many titles as he put the hood of his sweater over his head. For some reason, Sasuke insisted on keeping as many windows open as possible, and the front door was wide open, so there was a cold draft flowing through.

Gosh, Sasuke really liked conspiracy films and shows. Maybe some of these were his brother's (whom, by the way, he saw just about never). He flicked over the movies and one in particular caught his attention, and he pulled it out. It was an older Disney film called 'Fantasia.'

He flipped it over and was about to read the summary when Sasuke's hand tapped at his shoulder. He turned around and waggled the DVD case at the raven. «What is this?» he asked, glancing quickly at the cover and then back at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the DVD and then snorted. "Just a movie from last year. I was taking a class with Ibiki and he wanted us to write a critical essay about this movie."

«So it's musical?» Naruto asked, and Sasuke nodded.

"'Just about all Disney movies are, Naruto,'" Sasuke answered knowingly.

«This is true. Is it good?» he asked, getting childishly excited. He'd watched many Disney movies when he was younger, but some of them seemed to have slipped through the cracks, such as this one.

Sasuke widened his eyes at Naruto almost comically. "You've never seen Fantasia before?" he asked incredulously.

Naruto looked up in thought, squinting an eye and squeezing his chin, before looking back at Sasuke and shaking his head in the negative.

Sasuke decisively took the DVD from Naruto and popped it into the DVD player, shaking his head. This was just sad. For a musician to have never watched this movie was a sin. Literally a sin. Ah, wait… He turned to Naruto and said slowly, «This movie is 90 percent music based.»

Naruto tilted his head and looked over the summary. Without looking up at Sasuke, he lifted his hand and swiped it in front of his face dejectedly. «I see.» He heaved a small sigh. «More so than the usual Disney movie.» He looked back up at Sasuke after a short moment, glanced at the raven's sound system, and pointed to it before saying, «Let me use your speakers?» Sasuke looked over at the speaker system and canted his head slightly. Naruto picked up the two medium sized speakers and placed them between the couch and the TV. He sat on the floor and leaned against the couch and stretched out his legs, feet nearly touching the speakers. Looking up at Sasuke, he signed, «Can you move the speakers until my feet are touching either one?»

Sasuke did so quickly, stopping when the face of either speaker was flush against the bottom of Naruto's feet.

The blond kicked his knees up and down in anticipation, failingly trying to hide his toothy grin. «Okay, let's start it!» Naruto said excitedly. «Turn the volume a little higher, too.»

Sasuke had never seen an 18-year-old get so excited for Disney. He once again shook his head and returned to his perch on the couch as the movie began.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and scrunched his face angrily. «No way, you have to sit on the floor too,» he said, punctuating the sentence by emphatically tapping the floor twice with his fingertip.

Sasuke sucked lightly on his tongue and rolled his eyes before easing off the couch and sitting next to Naruto on the unforgiving, hard floor. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to sit there before moving back to the couch…

Naruto turned his attention back to the movie as an elderly man started speaking. After a few minutes, a few instruments were played with different kinds of audio waves, and Naruto watched the screen intently as a piece by Bach was played visually. After a while, gaining some semblance of a tempo, he tentatively bobbed his head.

_Wow, this is actually a really great film…_ Naruto thought as many more minutes passed by. I can totally feel what they're trying to convey. Another song by Tchaikovsky was being played, and, thinking he'd caught onto to the tempo, began to hum in monotone with the reoccurring pattern of music, but was surprised when the pace changed and the flowers on the screen began to jump after the fish. Turning to Sasuke, he said with astonishment, «Changing seasons…»

Sasuke didn't respond at first. When Naruto waved his hand at the raven obnoxiously, Sasuke watched as Naruto repeated the statement, and then nodded. He'd been distracted, staring at how Naruto was able to actually catch onto the music by just feeling the vibrations.

When the next part of the film began with the story of the servant and the broom, Naruto chuckled before he closed his eyes, letting his head fall back as he tapped his hand on the floor to the vibrations he felt traveling from his feet. He dropped his head in concentration, eyes still closed, and lifted his eyebrows suddenly, hitching his breath. The music had gotten intense and agitated.

He opened his eyes when the music stopped, vibrations not the same at his feet as before, and he could tell that the narrator was speaking once again. He stared at the subtitles in concentration and then stopped to glance at Sasuke, who was staring at him intensely. He lifted his eyebrows again and let out, "Hmm?"

Gee, Sasuke was quite distracted today.

"_Sass'ge_."

Sasuke shook his head dismissively, not up to saying what he was thinking. «Nothing,» he said.

Naruto thinned his eyes at Sasuke in disbelief, tightening his lips. «You lie,» he began, but turned his attention back to the film when the music began to play again. Furtively as possible, he stole a quick look at Sasuke again after a minute, then pointed accusingly at him.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "What?" he asked.

«You keep staring!» Naruto said, reaching over to Sasuke and ripping the remote from his hands to pause the movie.

Sasuke looked up for a moment as he rolled his eyes before training his eyes back on Naruto. "And if I am?" he retorted.

«Why?» Naruto asked.

Sasuke slumped his shoulders long sufferingly, giving Naruto a hardened glare. He pointed to his eyes. "Last time I checked, they're my eyes."

«So childish!» Naruto said, lip curled. He indignantly clenched his jaws, eyes thinning at the raven. «Pay attention to the movie! You're distracting me!» He pointed to the TV emphatically. «If you didn't remember, I can't hear, so I have only my eyes and my feet to follow this movie. I need to concentrate.»

Sasuke refrained from responding, opting instead to stare at the speakers touching Naruto's feet, tilting his head a little as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Naruto, catching Sasuke's curious glance, blinked at Sasuke before curling his legs toward himself decisively. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he drummed his fingers on his cheeks a few times before resolutely standing up and moving the speakers toward Sasuke.

Sasuke hit Naruto's calf to get the blonde's attention. «What are you doing…?» he asked slowly. He snorted suddenly and twisted forward when Naruto grabbed his foot, fingertips clenching on the sensitive skin at the pads of his feet without any warning, feet forced against the speakers. "'You won't be able to hear it,'" Sasuke uttered quietly, hands moving weakly.

Naruto dismissed the statement with the wave of his hand. «I can just watch it. You listen.»

Sasuke looked at the blond quickly when he grabbed the remote and played it. «You know, my hearing is totally going to override these vibrations. I'm not as sensitive as you are,» Sasuke said.

«Just try,» Naruto said simply as he sat on the couch. He watched as Sasuke breathed out in exasperation and then stared intently at the television screen. Quietly as possible, he bit on his lower lip and stood up on the couch cushion before plopping directly behind Sasuke. He was sure that Sasuke noticed, but the raven didn't react.

He could tell that Sasuke wasn't understanding the music the way he was trying to make him, and quickly realized one of the reasons why. He curled his legs under himself and then said, "Close y'eyes, Sass'ge," from behind the raven.

Sasuke lifted a hand up so Naruto could see it, and then gestured, «Why?»

"Nn," Naruto hummed. "Takin'way one'f y'senshes." He then clamped a hand over Sasuke's eyes.

«I'll keep them closed. You don't have to do that,» Sasuke said before he pulled at Naruto's fingers.

"Kay," Naruto said. "Now…close y'ears."

Sasuke let out another long breath before he did so, raising his hands to cover his ears. He couldn't understand how Naruto was going to relay any other message to him, because now he wouldn't be able to see Naruto, and he would barely be able to hear him.

He stiffened suddenly when he felt Naruto's hands secure themselves over his hands, more than doubling his inability to hear the music. Before, it sounded muffled, but with Naruto's hands over his, he couldn't hear it. All he could rely on were the tingling sensations at his feet. By keeping his eyes closed, Naruto had made it more difficult to really sense what was going on around him. It gave him a sensation of total loss. It left him feeling terribly vulnerable.

He didn't want his mind to go in the other direction—he didn't want to think of how it felt to have Naruto touching him this intimately. And even if it was intimate, there was something so unassuming about, so naïve and harmless. Naruto wasn't doing it to him to be flirtatious. Everything he did was to somehow bring someone closer to understanding his world. God, he was so fucking saintly.

It made him feel purer by just being in his presence. Cleaner. And he was the farthest thing from that.

Maybe the vibrations were making his train of thought flow in this direction, though. He'd seen the movie enough times to know the music, so maybe it was the music that was making him think this way. But he only realized it just now, possibly because he'd been talking to Naruto about before.

He felt that he was filled with evil and darkness and sin. Given to bouts of revelries. Destined to walk a road of self-destruction. After getting over his initial hate of the blond, his feelings towards Naruto had been nothing more than debased and sexual. He'd used people in the past so much that to him that they were just objects to sate his desire. But he'd become intrigued by Naruto.

And just being around Naruto now…he couldn't look at Naruto the way he'd looked at people in the past. He couldn't see him that way. He couldn't even look at _other _people that way anymore. That was the _last _thing he could think when he was with Naruto. Was that even possible?

_Damn, I don't even know… _the Uchiha thought as he dropped his head back because his neck grew tired. The change in position causing Naruto to have to reposition his hands. Tentatively, he decided to crack an eye open, and he stared up at Naruto, who was, in turn, staring at the film in concentration. All he could really make out were the curves of Naruto's clenched jaw and a thin sliver of his blue eyes from the light of the TV screen. He could tell that Naruto's face was scrunched up. It was too dark to tell anything otherwise.

Both eyes were now staring openly at every line possible on Naruto's face. He stiffened suddenly at feeling the vibrations trill and tickle through his feet, and Naruto felt his muscles tense, looking down at him just as suddenly.

Naruto blinked down at Sasuke and clenched his jaws even tighter indecisively. _I hate it when Sasuke looks at me like that…_ he thought. It was a completely enraptured stare. Sometimes he could go back in time and remember any instance in which he caught Sasuke staring at him like that. The kind of stare in which he was thinking about something deeply, as if he wanted to dig inside of his body and pull out some large enigma. Perhaps what'd been bothering him earlier that day was coming back to mind.

The raven opened his mouth to say something, and began, "…Yesterday…" And then he stopped, decided against finishing the statement. Naruto huffed in irritation and violently jerked the raven's attention back to the television screen.

Not even two seconds later, Naruto felt himself being wrenched away from Sasuke, his knee slamming into the raven's cranium ("_Damn it_, Naruto!") as he was literally dragged over the top of the couch and plummeted head first to the hard floor, facing the ceiling. He let out a strangled yelp from the weightless feeling and a grunt as his head knocked onto the floor.

Naruto could barely see anything because it was so dark, but he felt his body twist around so that his face was mashed against the cold floor and his arm twisted around his back. "S—Sass'ge!" His thoughts turned into a jumbled mess when he felt the weight of a body pressing on his back, as if someone was sitting atop him, and he let out a desperate, throaty cry when a hand clenched firmly around the back of his neck.

Just as quickly as the weight and pain was on top of him, everything seemed to disappear, and even though light flooded the room, he was trapped in darkness, and the hands were pulling at his sweater with the good intention to make him sit aright caused his fight or flight instinct kicked in, and he _flailed _his fist and feet, especially when he felt more than one set of hands falling on him. "_G'off_! Mguh!" He couldn't understand why this was happening to him _again again againagain**notagain**,_ but came to a sudden halt when he felt a heavy sting on his cheek.

As if only _now _realizing the lights were switched on, Naruto's clouded vision seemed to clear up, and he stared at the worried face of not only Sasuke, but someone who looked _a lot _like Sasuke. Breath coming out in short gasps, he could only stare at Sasuke, unable to process, for some god-awful reason, what was going on.

Sasuke leaned forward towards Naruto and latched his hand onto the blonde's shoulder, forcing Naruto to look at him. Naruto wasn't responding, eyes glazed over and dilated, as if mentally trapped somewhere. "Naruto, it's okay." For a short moment, he couldn't tell if Naruto could really even see him. "_Naruto_," he said louder, as if, somehow, the blond could hear him. But his fingers clenched tighter on the flesh of Naruto's tensed shoulder. He shook the blond, who seemed, suddenly, to jolt out of his stupor. When Naruto finally _looked _at him, _looked _at him and could _understand _this world, he repeated, "'Naruto, it's _okay_.'"

Damn it.

Naruto seemed frozen for a moment again, but suddenly shivered, eyes blinking rapidly as his taught body loosened. He looked at Sasuke in complete confusion.

Breathing out deeply in some form of relief, Sasuke glared murderously at his brother, who was kneeling right next to him, before starting, "'My _ass _of a brother thought you were trying to murder me.'"

Naruto looked over at the other Uchiha bent over next to Sasuke with widened eyes.

"Forgive me," Itachi began quietly. "I walked in and neither you nor my little brother responded, so I only thought the worst. My detective instincts kicked in."

_Detective…?_

Sasuke's brother was a detective?

"Overzealous son of a bitch," Sasuke muttered to himself, shaking his head. God, seriously, for a moment, he'd been terrified. Naruto had been trapped in that bad memory.

"Seriously, sorry for attacking you. My vision is a little off," Itachi apologized again. He stared at the blond, who nodded at him quietly. Still, the reaction he'd gotten was…a lot different than he'd expected.

Sasuke felt somewhat bad. If he thought about it, his and Naruto's positions may have seemed somewhat violent, especially if Itachi had seen it when the blond basically twisted his neck toward the television. Shaking his head, he straightened his back.

"Besides, my little brother has never brought anyone home with him," Itachi added with the hint of a grin.

Sasuke sucked his teeth and nudged Itachi viciously with his elbow. What Itachi didn't know wouldn't kill him.

«Water and bridge,» Naruto said after a couple of seconds.

Itachi blinked at Naruto.

«Translate, Sasuke,» Naruto said angrily, furrowing his eyebrows. He was distracting them. As long as they didn't talk about the way he'd reacted, he'd be fine.

"Hh. He said water and bridge, Itachi," Sasuke murmured.

"Hnh…" Itachi responded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "As in—"

"I _know _what he _meant_, little brother," Itachi groused impatiently.

Naruto leaned forward slightly before kicking his legs up agilely. «I'm going to the bathroom,» he said quickly before he turned about and walked toward the bathroom, leaving the two behind.

"Hnh…"

Sasuke didn't need Itachi to translate that small sound for him. It said everything and nothing at the same time. It said, 'There was something very off about what just happened,' and 'I wonder if he's fine' all in one short sound.

Itachi turned to his little brother. "Sasuke."

"I already know what you're going to say, Itachi," Sasuke said as he stood up. "I noticed it, and it's best not to talk about it."

"You know me so little, little brother," Itachi murmured with a grin, bending over to pick up his fallen glasses. Wiping off excess dirt front the glasses, he turned to his brother and smiled. "I didn't know you knew sign language."

Sasuke glanced away from his brother, lips tightening and cheeks involuntarily puffing. "Hnh. You know me so little, _big brother_," he huffed. Damn Itachi to hell and back! Every time his brother was around, his maturity level was reduced to that of a seven year old blubbering child.

Itachi cleared his throat and walked toward the kitchen. "In all seriousness, Sasuke," the elder Uchiha muttered, "that wasn't a normal reaction."

"It doesn't take a detective to know that," Sasuke answered smartly.

"And I won't go into asking you what's happened to him," Itachi began, opening the Frigidaire. He tisked at looking at the meager contents. His eyes zeroed in on a bottle of tea, and grabbing it, he turned back around to face his younger brother. "But before you start a relationship with someone, you should make sure that you really know them. And visa versa."

Sasuke furled his eyebrows at his brother, thinning his eyes. "I don't have a relationship with him," he lied. He crossed his arms over his chest. "And that was my tea."

"Oh, come on, little brother," Itachi began in exasperation, leaning against the counter top as he took another swig of the tea. "I said earlier that you've never brought anyone home before. When you were in high school, you were probably laid with everything under the sun, no strings attached."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Damn it, not that he wasn't _thinking _about that less than ten minutes ago. Leave it up to his brother to dash any semblance of security and cleanliness that he'd felt a while ago. He uncrossed his arms and let his arms fall to his side. He blinked up at his brother and then held out his hand. When Itachi handed him the bottle of tea, he drank a little before giving the bottle back to him.

He looked at Itachi unsurely before curling his fingers into his palm. He wanted to know…how long…

"I'm going to be here for a couple of days, Sasuke," Itachi answered the silent question. Sasuke seemingly perked at hearing that. "I have to leave Saturday morning. But I'm here on business anyway, so you probably won't see much of me."

"Oh," Sasuke answered, slightly wilting.

The elder brother tilted his head and couldn't suppress a small smile. "You're cute, little brother," he muttered.

Sasuke's cheeks turned red, whether out of irritation or of embarrassment, and sat down at the table, burbling out a weak 'Shut up.'

"He's that boy from the restaurant, right?" Itachi asked as he too sat at the table. Sasuke didn't answer, and he in turn hummed out an "Mm hmm." Silence. It was always this way. Odd silences. They were eight years apart. Even when they were young, what did they ever have in common to talk about?

"So how is school, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, placing his elbows on the table and leaning his head into his palm.

"It's fine," Sasuke answered quickly.

"Why were you watching Fantasia?" Itachi asked just as quickly, as if not really interested in knowing how school was for Sasuke.

"Because Naruto wanted to watch it," Sasuke retorted. No, he wasn't entertaining the youth still dormant in him. Somewhere. Deep. Very deep…

"Oh, that's his name?" Itachi returned. "I didn't peg him for someone with a Japanese name. He's a foreigner, isn't he?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer and then paused. Wait a second. Why did he never make this connection before? Naruto's name was _completely _Japanese. But he was obviously a foreigner. How did that work out…? "_Hnh_," he responded in intrigue.

"Never thought about that until now, did you?" Itachi asked. He almost laughed. Sometimes things totally went over his little brother's head. They didn't have to be complicated, either. Sometimes it was the little things. Naïve. It was cute. "What's his background?" he asked.

Sasuke shrugged. Damn Itachi. Making him think things that totally went over his head.

"But he _does _go to school with you, right?" Itachi asked. He'd had this conversation with Sasuke before.

"Yes," Sasuke groused. He then reached for the tea again, and took a sip when his brother gave it to him.

"So he's a music major, or an art major?" Itachi asked.

"A music major," Sasuke answered. Why was Itachi asking all these questions, damn it?

"I see…" Itachi answered. "And his deafness…?" he asked.

"What about it?" Sasuke answered defensively, daring Itachi to call up Naruto's competence towards music (not that he hadn't doubted Naruto at first either…).

"Oh nothing, little brother," Itachi said, unable to hold back his grin. "Don't be so hasty to jump to conclusions."

Naruto peeked into the kitchen nervously, Sasuke's back facing him, and waved awkwardly at the elder Uchiha when the dark grey eyes caught sight of him.

Itachi ushered Naruto into the room, bowing his head politely at the blond. Sasuke looked up at Naruto and said with a simple stare, 'Sit'. Naruto sat at the table with the two brothers and instantly felt like he was invading on their private time.

"Once again," Itachi started, "I apologize for before. My name is Itachi."

Naruto waved his hand at Itachi dismissively.

"So you go to school with my little brother?" Itachi asked, in which Naruto nodded. "I hear you're in the music program. What instrument do you play?"

Naruto held out his hands before Itachi and then wriggled his fingers as if he was playing the piano.

"Oh, the piano?" Itachi asked, and Naruto nodded again.

Sasuke looked at the two and curled his lip. _Damn Itachi! _His brother was the type of person that no one felt strange talking to. Naruto was too damn comfortable with him already! What took him a good month and more only took Itachi ten minutes with Naruto. _And _he'd attacked Naruto earlier. What the hell!

Itachi looked smugly at his little brother and said, "Now see, little brother? I don't need to know sign language to talk to your friend."

Naruto widened his eyes and let out a snort. Competitive brothers.

Sasuke sucked his teeth at his brother, and Naruto said to Sasuke, «Hey, I'm not here to cause any divisions. Translate to the one who needs translations.»

It was Sasuke turn to look smugly at his brother. "He said he's not here to cause any divisions," he began. "_And_, translate to the one who needs translations."

Itachi looked at Naruto. Calling to the defense, eh? "Touché," he murmured. He yawned tiredly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small envelope. "I was originally planning on going with you next month, Sasuke," he began as he opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. He put two tickets on the table before Sasuke and Naruto. "Tokyo Philharmonic is being conducted by Karl Jenkins and they're going to be playing his Diamond Music."

_The _Karl Jenkins? Sasuke looked at the tickets to confirm. Holy shit! This was, like, a special performance that only people who knew people who _knew _people could go to. How the fuck did Itachi get these tickets?

Naruto tilted his head curiously and leaned forward, looking at the tickets. Who the hell was Karl Jenkins? He nudged Sasuke with his elbow and gestured, «Who's that…?»

Sasuke's jaw dropped as he stared incredulously at Naruto. Damn, Naruto was seriously shoved under a rock. He wasn't sure if the blond would make it in the classical music world. "'Karl Jenkins is one of this world's leading contemporary composers,'" he answered, continuing, "'And his Diamond Music is probably some of best classical-influenced music today.'"

Itachi gave a short nod, and Naruto's mouth circled into a silent, "Ooh…" of understanding. «Then this is a pretty big deal…» he gestured.

"I would certainly think so," Sasuke muttered.

Itachi cleared his throat to gain his brother's attention. "I have two passes that will basically give you the freedom to sit anywhere you wish. And you can meet Jenkins himself. As I said before, I was originally planning on going with you, little brother. But maybe you can take your, ah, friend with you."

Naruto pointed at himself. «Me?» he asked in excitement. It would be his first concert in a long time!

Sasuke stiffened in his seat, looking at the two tickets, before squashing Naruto's excitement with a cold, "'I don't want to go with him.'"

_What…? Why? _Naruto thought.

Itachi breathed out slowly, already knowing where this was going. "Why?" he asked.

Sasuke looked away from the table for a moment, tightening his jaw. He looked back at his brother.

Naruto could instantly feel it. He could see it automatically, just in that stare. It was childishly desperate. «…Actually,» he began slowly, «I don't think I'll be able to go there,» he lied.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto and then glanced back at his brother. "Don't lie," Itachi said after Sasuke told him what Naruto said, his demeanor changing. "Just a moment ago you were excited that I offered my ticket to you."

Naruto shook his head and shrugged his shoulder. This was bad. He shouldn't have come back from the bathroom. Maybe he should have snuck out while he'd had the chance. Maybe he should have left them alone when he had the chance.

He was causing a division. Maybe they didn't spend much time together. Sasuke probably wanted to go with his brother.

Itachi looked back at his brother and shook his head. "Don't be selfish, little brother," he mumbled. "Just go with him."

Sasuke didn't want to be childish. He didn't want to look at his older brother and immaturely say, 'No, I want to go with you.' He especially didn't want to do it in front of Naruto. He didn't need Naruto to think that he was clingy or needy or otherwise child-like.

"He wants to go," Itachi added.

Naruto viciously shook his head. He nudged Sasuke with his elbow, and when the younger raven faced him, he almost reared back in shock.

At that moment, Sasuke really hated him. He could just tell.

«I think I should go home…» Naruto said slowly to the raven. He felt terrible. He didn't even know Sasuke's brother, and yet he was already causing the two to argue. Over him, no less. He stood up from his chair.

As if a switch suddenly clicked in Sasuke's mind, he straightened in his seat, grabbing onto Naruto's arm. "You don't have to," he said. He'd been acting like a child, whether he'd wanted to or not. And it'd made Naruto feel uncomfortable.

Naruto didn't deserve that.

Itachi looked at Sasuke knowingly, eyes trained on the hand still wrapped around Naruto's forearm. _Not in relationship? _he thought. _If not, my vision is 20/20_. Maybe he should mention something that could probably break the ice. "I can always get a third ticket," he finally said.

Sasuke looked over at him intently. "What?" he asked.

Naruto waggled his finger in the air, not knowing what'd just transpired. «What did he say?» he asked Sasuke.

«That he can get another ticket,» Sasuke answered.

Naruto's mouth once again circled into a silent, 'Ooh.'

"How the hell are you getting all of these tickets?" Sasuke asked in frustration.

"I have connections," Itachi answered. "Little brother, I am affiliated with the government. You know this. Don't ask questions."

Sasuke tightened his jaw and lips, glaring at his brother.

«Anyway, I kind of want to go home,» Naruto said quickly, wrenching his arm away from Sasuke's grip.

"Go home?" Sasuke repeated. "But—"

Itachi coughed into his hand, "Childish."

Sasuke turned and glared at his brother. Turning back to Naruto, he stood. "We're walking," he ordered.

«But your brother's here,» Naruto argued. He could already anticipate why Sasuke would be willing to walk what was more than an hour to Naruto's place.

"'We're _walking_,'" Sasuke stressed. «We need to talk.» He turned to Itachi. "I'll see you later."

"I'm probably going to be asleep by the time you get back," Itachi answered, standing up as well.

Naruto walked into the other room and picked up his movies quickly, shoving them into his bag. He walked back to the kitchen quickly to wave a short goodbye to Sasuke's brother as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"It was nice—"

Sasuke stuffed his wallet and keys in his back pocket and grabbed Naruto by the wrist, pulling him towards the front door.

Itachi rolled his eyes. Right.

**.o.**

Naruto shuffled behind Sasuke cautiously as the raven walked a few steps ahead of him. They'd already been walking for ten or so minutes. It was probably better to catch a taxi or a bus, which he'd suggest to Sasuke when they'd first left the apartment, but Sasuke had refused.

The damn Uchiha was walking what felt like 10 miles per hour, and it was causing Naruto to nearly break out into a jog. This was ridiculous. Maybe Sasuke was letting out some pent out anger (or confusion), but if they were going to just walk towards Naruto's place silently, Naruto would much rather catch a taxi.

He stopped walking after the raven and stood still. "Sass'ge!" he called out tentatively, glancing at passers-by warily. Raising his voice, he called out again, "_Sass'ge_!"

How many times today did he have to call out Sasuke's name today? It was like the raven was in a bubble, in his own world, unable to hear even his own name.

Sasuke stopped and turned around, facing Naruto, who was standing quite a ways from him. He backpedaled toward the blond, stopping when he was standing in front of him. The blond was glaring up at him indignantly. He was at his boiling point, though. He needed to know. "'I can't anymore, Naruto. I need to know,'" he said. "'I need to know what—'"

Naruto quickly reached forward and grabbed Sasuke's hands, stopping him from finishing the statement. He lowered his head and glanced sideways at the people walking by them. Some had started staring at the two. He didn't want them to see them signing to each other.

Sasuke shook his hands away from Naruto's and grabbed the blond by the wrist, glancing at the park across the street. Looking before he crossed, he ran across the busy street, Naruto trailing behind him. He wrenched Naruto toward him when they reached the other side, feeling Naruto tugging away from him, and went a few yards into the park, finding the closest bench and park light.

Naruto jerked himself away from Sasuke and angrily shoved at his chest. «What the fuck has been going on with you? This has been going on all day, Sasuke!»

Sasuke coiled his fingers through his hair.

«And if this is about what happened at your place with your brother, don't even _go _there!»

Sasuke looked at Naruto deadpanned and said, "'Yesterday, I heard the radio interview.'"

Naruto's stomach dropped. Sasuke shouldn't know about it. At least, he should know that the book was about him.

«Last week you forwarded me a message by mistake,» the raven explained quietly. «Remember?»

Slowly, Naruto asked, «You…listened to it, knowing that it was about me…?»

"Naruto whether you tell me now or I read that damned book, I'm going to find out what happened," the raven said. "I'm going to know that it's about you."

Naruto looked at Sasuke as if the raven had stolen something from him. _That's_ what had been bothering him the whole day?

"Please," Sasuke started.

_Please. _

That was probably the first time he ever heard Sasuke say that word.

"I want to know."

Another pause.

"How did you go deaf? What happened?"

After a minute of silence, Naruto breathed in deeply, allowing himself to inhale because he'd held his breath for that whole time. He looked away from Sasuke, eyes glazing and throat burning as he tightened his lips as he pointed to the park bench.

The raven sat at the bench obediently, and Naruto sat next to him.

No one ever wanted to know about him as much Sasuke. No one ever pressed this issue so hard. No one ever took the time. Why the hell _was _he holding back?

«When I was thirteen,» he started suddenly, «my mother, father, and I were driving back from vacation. It was the dead of winter. Trying to make it through a storm. My mother was a little nervous so she wanted to listen to music to calm her. My father was trying to show her where a CD was, and it made the car swerve a little. But as he righted the car, there was damn deer. A damn deer. It came out of nowhere, and my father didn't see it until it was too late.. He hit it. And then…» He looked over at Sasuke. «You know that feeling when you're falling and your stomach crawls into your throat? And you can't hear anything…? That's what it felt like when the car went over the edge.» He paused, thinking deeply.

«I remember thinking to myself, 'This is it.' I had insane flashbacks, like my father closing his shop down the shore, or my mother teaching me how to paint. I could see my father teaching me how to play piano. I could see myself at my first recital and wondering if I would ever have another one. I could see myself racing my father in the park. I could see all these things. And it felt like forever. But I think it only lasted like two or three seconds before we actually crashed. The car probably made six or seven 360s before it settled, apparently upside down, but by that time, I was out.

«When I woke up three weeks later, my parents were already buried. I don't think anyone's ever had a relationship like the kind I had with my parents. They were like big kids. They were so free. They loved life. And they were my friends; we pulled pranks on each other all the time. That damn storm took my parents away. It took my hearing. And for about half a year, I was paralyzed from the waste down because I had spinal shock. It took everything and left behind a broken nobody.» He looked back at Sasuke.

The raven stared at him quietly, allowing him to continue.

«It hit me real hard. For about two months, I was at the lowest possible point in my life. I literally lost any desire to live. I was an empty shell spending most of its time sitting by a window. And one day Jiraiya and Kiba took me to the hospital to have my check up. Kiba turned away for maybe five seconds, and I wheeled off. I left the hospital, and I wheeled myself into the street. I wanted to get hit. I wanted to die.» He paused and shivered at the memory, the very distinct feeling of the wind rushing past him as he wheeled himself outside and went through the parking lot and then turned into the street. He could remember it so vividly, how his mind was set on one thing: dying. «I _did _almost die. But this guy pulled me off from the street and I swear he was pissed as ever to see what I'd tried to do. That was Gaara.»

Gaara.

That guy that was the little brother of Kankurou and Temari.

If ever he met Gaara, Sasuke would have to thank him.

«At that time, he wasn't deaf, but because of a surgery that'd gone wrong when he was young, his hearing was going bad and he needed corrective surgery. Sasuke, I was trapped in darkness at that time. It was like I was locked in a room with no light, and Jiraiya and Kiba were on the other side of the door, calling me, but I couldn't hear them. I was alone. But in that darkness, Gaara was there, you know? He took my hand and led me to the door. Even though he was in darkness too, he knew the way out by now.»

«If it hadn't been for him, I would probably be the same today. But he's the one that nearly forced me to attend the JSL school with him. When I saw that there were other people like me, people who were trapped in darkness, something seemed to click in my mind. Even though it sucked, I was with other people like me, and it wasn't darkness. He'd been planning on going there for the year, but about four months later, he moved, and a month after that, my spinal shock started phasing out.»

He tightened his lips and looked over at Sasuke. «And with what happened at school.»

Sasuke's back straightened as his eyes widened suddenly. "You don't have—"

«I. Wasn't. Raped,» Naruto gestured emphatically. «Four guys found me in the gym locker room and started messing with me. We ended up in the gym equipment room, where they beat me up and made sure I wouldn't be able to get out. That's all that happened to me.» He didn't have to burden Sasuke with the things they'd said to him, or detail him on how they beat him and urinated on him. Sasuke didn't need to know about that.

Sasuke let out a shaking breath. Thank god. Thank god. Even though Naruto had assured him that night, Sasuke wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. He'd still thought the worst, but thank god it wasn't that.

«Sasuke, it may sound weird but to me…» Naruto began slowly. «I've never been interested in sex.» Looking down, he twisted his finger around his drawstring. «I don't have those kinds of desires. I never did. Maybe because there were always other things that I worried about…»

Asexual? God, Sasuke'd thought that his brother was the only asexual person in existence. Sasuke straightened when Naruto looked back at him. Why was Naruto mentioning this to him, anyway?

«Sometimes, when I'm around you, I feel like being around you is just enough. And other times…» He let out a short puff and shamefully turned away as he pressed his hand against his stomach. Something boiled in his blue eyes. He didn't have the nerves to say this in front of Sasuke. He staunched his reserves and looked up at the raven.

Sasuke tilted his head. Was this an admission...? Was Naruto admitting that he wanted to...Oh. Wait.

«Other times I feel—»

"'Stop.'" When had this happened?

Naruto looked at Sasuke in question.

Naruto was a fucking saint. He couldn't taint him.

If he tainted Naruto, something between them would die.

And yet, hearing that admission stirred that demon inside of him. The one he'd thought was hushed. He didn't want it. He didn't. Facing Naruto, he said the last thing that Naruto would have expected him to say.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

Naruto blinked at him, not understanding.

"Sass'ge?"

He pulled Naruto toward him tightly. He didn't want to let him go. He didn't want to let him go. He wanted to see Naruto in one way. He only wanted to see Naruto as that saint.

Sometimes, Sasuke was like a child. They way he'd wanted to paint his parents as innocent, as loving, as caring. The way he saw his big brother that stable fortress in his life, that person that he could let go of all pretenses, that person that he wanted attention from, to be with, time from. The way he saw Sakura and Ino and Lee as glue piecing his salvaged sanity, pieces that he could never do without.

The way he saw Naruto as a personification of everything holy, in music, in life. Perfection. Naruto was his saint.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

He'd never intended on sullying that image.

**.**

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**Comment: **Raise your hand if you go on Disney binges from time to time? Like, every semester there is a day when I just wanna watch Disney movies for the whole day, literally. The kid in me just totally takes over. Well, I'm gonna go back to the real world now, unfortunately. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter :].


	23. Part III: Then a Dirge

**Comment: **This chapter is an extremely emotionally charged chapter. But **warning, there is some strong, offensive terminology in this chapter**. I do not ever use such terminology in real life, nonetheless curse, but I told you that this story deals with some real issues.

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**Shizuka na Sonata**

**Then a Dirge**

**.o.**

**.**

This was a cold summer so far. It was the middle of June, but everything about this year was cold thus far. Meteorologists said it was a bit of a phenomenon, but was probably due to all of the strange weather patterns lately. It would stay cold for a bit longer. As Naruto rounded a corner, feet padding harshly on the cement beneath them, he was thankful for the wind. Thankful for the cold air. It felt so good in his lungs as he ran. It felt so good to _not think_.

It was a couple of weeks after his and Sasuke's awkward date, but something had changed from that night. There was a bit of an openness. For reasons unknown, the two weren't able to put much time into practicing privately with each other, but whenever they got that time to play together, it was meaningful. There was a strange sort of communication with the music. They were flourishing musically, and it helped them connect more with each other.

It was strange that it was starting to come to an end. Mid-terms were already over. Halfway through June meant that they only had another two weeks or for the chamber tour. It was to be taken place a month before the semester ended.

A little more than an hour after the good morning run, Naruto was cleaning and setting tables with as much energy as he could muster. His mind was constantly on Sasuke—on the way the raven was acting when there wasn't a bow in his hand and a viola tucked under his chin.

There was something strange about the way Sasuke presented himself lately. Stiffened. Reserved. Almost cold, like this summer. And he was sure that the Uchiha didn't notice it himself. But for a reason or another, instead of worrying himself over it, the blond was trying to find any excuse in the book to overlook the actions. He didn't want to think that Sasuke was closing himself off to him, like so many people had done in the past.

He didn't want to think that…with the way Sasuke had apologized to him in a way that he couldn't understand at first, the Uchiha was going to abandon him.

He was so used to being abandoned.

Naruto jumped up slightly in surprise when he felt a hand tap at his shoulder. Turning, he looked at Suigetsu, who took a step back from him and grinned. "Hey," Suigetsu started, "'I need a favor from you mate. A friend of mind is over here last minute and I need see him tonight. Like now, man. You think you can cover my shift?'"

Naruto straightened as he let the rag in his hand fall to the table. Sighing long-sufferingly, he pulled out his phone to check the time, shoving it back into his apron afterwards. Damn it, it was already six. His shift was ending in only fifteen minutes; he and Sasuke were supposed to practice tonight, and it would be the first _good _practice in almost a week. «What time do you get off normally tonight?» he asked the other male, near dreading the answer.

Suigetsu grinned offhandedly, hesitant to answer, before he reached up and scratched at the nape of his neck. "Okay so—" he squinted an eye, "I kinda don't get off til eleven…thirty."

Naruto widened his eyes at Suigetsu incredulously, eyebrows furling. «Are you serious? No way! I have pra—»

"Please, _please_, Naruto!" Suigetsu implored as he grabbed onto the blonde's forearm. "Listen, dude, I swear, if it wasn't important I wouldn't ask you, but I know you're reliable."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he lolled his head back. _I can't believe I'm doing this,_ he thought, completely ignoring the compliment. Sometimes being reliable was a terrible setback.

"Dude, I swear, I'll totally cover you whenever you need it next time. Seriously. Whenever you need it. But I need you to cover me or Chouza will be pissed. If I don't meet with my friend," he paused, seemingly to coat his next words carefully, "This is seriously a life and death situation," he finished.

Naruto looked at the other male gravely, gauging his honesty. Sometimes he could sense when someone was lying to him. He was sure that the 'life and death' statement was a smidgen farfetched. But as far as the importance of the situation…

Suigetsu wasn't lying to him.

After a moment of oppressive silence, Naruto let out a deep breath and nodded. «Fine,» he answered. «You owe me your next of kin.»

Suigetsu kicked his head back in relief and placed his hand on his forehead, turning away for a moment. When looking back at Naruto, he grinned gratefully. "Dude, thanks. You can have my _grandchildren, _too." He slapped Naruto on the arm before heading towards the locker room.

Naruto shook his head as he reached for the rag on the table and finished cleaning off the surface before turning away and heading to the kitchen with the dirty plates. Sighing, he patted one of the twins, Nishi, on the shoulder. Slowly and easily as possible, he said, «I'm going to be helping you guys with cleaning the dishes at around 6:30. Suigetsu had to leave early.»

Nishi smiled at Naruto gratefully. "Thanks, kid," he said before turning back to the stove.

Naruto turned away and opened the back door to take out the large garbage bags, hauling them behind him. It was already getting dark. Turning the corner, he gave a large, tired yawn, before shivering from the gust that passed through the alleyway. He turned toward the street and shook his head in irritation. Someone had decided that the sidewalk was apparently a dump site for their refuse. Tutting his tongue as he walked toward the mess, he reached for his phone to text Sasuke. He wouldn't be able to practice with the raven tonight. He walked over to the mess to clean it up and bent forward, grabbing the garbage with his gloved hand. As he sent the message, someone literally plowed into him, not stopping as she reached toward a dark sedan, spilling a bit of her drink on his apron.

The blond tisked angrily as she threw herself bodily into the vehicle without so much as turning to apologize to him, garishly long, red hair whipping behind her before the door slammed.

Agh, people were cold this summer, too.

As he turned back to the alleyway to go back inside from the back, he missed Suigetsu leaving from the entrance, climbing quickly into the same vehicle that the female had sat in just moments before.

**- Silent Sonata -**

Itachi had left the next morning with barely a goodbye when he'd visited two weeks ago. It wasn't as if he came and went this time without leaving a mark, though. Usually, when the elder Uchiha came to visit, he barely spent time at home. He usually had official business to handle with the government (to be honest, it was a complicated thing, really. He spent most of his time in America, dealing with felonies that were connected there and here in Japan. To call him an agent was farfetched, but he was certainly an investigator).

Sometimes, Itachi would come to the apartment and Sasuke never knew about it until he found a note on the kitchen table the following morning or when coming home from school.

It was difficult to say that he knew his brother well. He was never overly affected by his presence, or lack thereof. When he was around, though, Sasuke felt different somehow. Perhaps dependent in a way. But with his brother's recent visit, he'd begun to think things about Naruto that he never had before.

The question at the top of his mind was, Just where was Naruto from? What was his lineage? Sure, it was normal for foreigners to be in his school, for them to know Japanese, but a foreigner knowing JSL was actually a bit unusual. The fact that Naruto was _young _and knew JSL was even more so.

If he had gotten into such a terrible accident, why didn't he go back to his family members outside of Japan, where it probably would have been easier for him to acclimate? On top of that, Naruto had a Japanese name—not something generic like John or William. Naruto. He'd thought about it before a long time ago, but now, even more so, the questions were rolling around in his mind.

He felt as if he didn't know Naruto .

And he started thinking all of this just because Itachi asked him one question in passing.

But the worst was what Itachi said to him last before he left.

"Control yourself, Sasuke," the elder Uchiha had said with utter seriousness. "And don't…" he'd paused. "Just pro—keep an eye on that Naruto person."

He couldn't understand how a few simple sentences could have his mind reeling so much. But either way, he was in a turmoil of emotions. Naruto had cancelled their practice on Saturday, which was quite abrupt and unexplained. It left him to practice solely with Neji, who had told him that when he was distracted, his playing was absolutely terrible.

It was true. On Thursday, when they all had practice with Iruka and Kurenai, he and Kankurou were to practice a song, and it was a bit of a mess.

So he was going skip out on lunch today and see if maybe he could get back into gear. He needed to concentrate. Playing came natural when he was practicing with Naruto. But practicing with anyone else was a different story. His mind wandered. What he really needed the most was to stop thinking about Naruto. He needed to stop being around him for now. So he stopped and tapped the blond walking in front of him toward the student café.

Naruto turned and looked at him unassumingly and then he wagged his finger in curiosity.

"I'm going to head to the practice rooms," the raven coolly answered.

Naruto nodded slowly. «Can I watch?» he asked.

Sasuke let out a stifled breath, but tried not to change his demeanor. "Okay," he answered simply. He'd been trying to avoid Naruto. And now Naruto was going to be alone with him for a little more than an hour.

So much could happen in that hour. And he wasn't sure if he would be able to control himself. Not after that night.

_I won't be able to control myself, _Sasuke thought as he turned the corner to the music hall. Because while Sasuke loved that pure image of Naruto, something terribly sinister within him wanted to completely ravage the blond. Do dreadful things to him, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why.

When they finally got to the practice room, Naruto pulled off his bag and let it drop on the floor, cracking his back. He clapped his hand at Sasuke to gain the raven's attention. «You can just act like I'm a fly on the wall. I won't bother you. I just want to watch.»

Sasuke nodded quietly and pulled out his viola. He had a recital at the end of the semester that he'd barely practiced for.

Naruto propped one of the chairs against the wall and sat down. He then stared up at Sasuke as the raven leaned his hip against a stabilized piano. He furrowed his eyebrows curiously when the raven shook his hand with the bow in it loosely, rolling his neck. Everything about him was stiff, though.

He was aware of Naruto's staring, and the blonde's claim to be as a fly on the wall was actually fallacious. Naruto's staring was making him extremely self-conscious. There was always a tenseness when one was _alert _to an invader of personal space. He closed his eyes, tucked the viola under his chin and folded his hands together for a short moment. He had to remember why he was here. He had to remember that he loved music. He was skilled at it. He never minded when people watched him play—in fact he prided himself in allowing people to see him perform. But damn, Naruto…

«Turn around, Naruto,» the raven demanded almost desperately.

Naruto canted his head slightly and opened his mouth, confused. «But I won't know—»

Sasuke looked at the blond sternly. "You'll know," he stated stiffly, raising a hand to stabilize the viola under his chin.

Naruto quickly puffed out air from his nose. «Ass,» he stated quickly. «That isn't a harp or a piano, you know,» he gestured, pointing to the viola.

Sasuke sucked his teeth irritably and spat out a quick, "_Fine_!" Childish.

Naruto reeled his head back at the way in which Sasuke spoke to him. «Maybe it would be a better idea if I leave,» he suggested.

"May_be,_" Sasuke groused, emphasizing the last syllable.

«Well, too bad. I'm staying. We haven't even practiced with each other in almost two weeks. I just want to watch you play.»

Sasuke took a deep breath, restraining himself from saying something that he certainly didn't mean. He signed a quick apology to Naruto. Tightening his chin over the viola, he said quietly, «It's not that I want you to leave.»

«Then what is it, Sasuke?»

The raven raised a hand and curled his finger around a lock of hair.

«If it makes you feel less uncomfortable, I can block my ears.»

_Uh…pardon?_

Sasuke tilted his head. "But you're…" he paused. What was Naruto thinking by saying that?

«Well it's psychological, you know? If you _feel _like I'm not listening, you're not going to notice me as much, you know?»

"But I already know you can't hear, Naruto," Sasuke mumbled in confused anger. "Your pretending to do so is redundant and a bit self-depreciating."

Naruto grinned at Sasuke before barking out a short laugh.

And what was so funny?

«I can't believe you believed me Sasuke,» he signed a short moment later. «The look on your face was great.»

Sasuke glared at the blond, who in return couldn't suppress another bark of laughter, cradling his side. Shaking his head and looking away, Sasuke puffed out a breath, something between a laugh and an outcry of irrepressible turmoil pushing past his lips.

"Sass'ge."

He turned to Naruto quickly.

"Sass…ge," Naruto repeated, tilting his head slightly and putting on a face of concentration, eyebrows curling inward. He cleared his throat. "Sass. Ge. _Ge_. Sass'_ge_." He squinted an eye. «Am I pronouncing your name correctly?» he asked. «Does 'ke' sound right?»

Sasuke stiffened. No, Naruto wasn't pronouncing his name correctly. But would he tell him that? Would telling Naruto the truth deter him from speaking again? The possibilities of him causing Naruto to stop talking again was almost impossible to bear. "Yes," he lied.

«You're lying,» the blond stated knowingly. «I can tell by your body language. I can tell a lot of things by people's body language, you know. I can read these things.»

Where exactly was this going?

«I can tell a lot of things by looking at the way someone says something.» Naruto paused. «With you, Sasuke, I can tell when you're lying and when you're telling the truth. The first time you told me that you liked me, I could tell you were telling the truth. But I wanted it to be a lie because it sort of threw me off. Whenever you tell the truth, you're relaxed. Your shoulders fall. And your eyes…They're…clear.»

"Why exactly are you telling me this, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, clenching a jaw self-consciously.

«Because no matter what you say right now, I can tell that you want me to be here. You say that I'm making you uncomfortable, but…I dunno…you're really relaxed right _now_. I think that there's something on your mind.»

Sasuke sucked in a breath.

«It's because I told you what happened to me, isn't it?» Naruto suddenly asked.

"It's not that!" Sasuke quickly answered.

«Well there's something that you're holding back, Sasuke. You've been like this since I told you what happened to me.»

Sasuke shook his head in slight irritation.

_It's because I'm fucking afraid of you._

Most certainly unable to say those words aloud under any circumstance, he allowed his annoyance with Naruto's assumptions to take over. He took a step forward and suddenly pointed his bow at the blond.

Naruto straightened and looked from the tip of the bow in front of his eyes up to Sasuke.

"You're right. I do want you here," Sasuke said sternly, still pointing his bow at Naruto. "But stop reading my body language." He pulled the bow away and tapped his chest with it. "This is private territory. Under lock and key." He curled his brows. "And shoved under my bed."

What?

Naruto snorted.

Before Sasuke knew what happened, Naruto lifted himself out of the seat against the wall and walked over to the raven. He reached his hands out and grabbed Sasuke by the hips and twisted him around, peering at his posterior.

Sasuke quickly whipped around with widened eyes and hit Naruto's roaming hand with his bow. "What the fuck are you doing, Naruto?" he nearly screeched.

"Hmm," Naruto observed. He tapped a finger against his chin gravely before looking up at Sasuke, standing straight. «I was looking for something.»

"What the hell for?" the raven asked, face turning red in abashment.

«Well it seems that someone has finally pulled that stick out of your ass, Sasuke.»

Sasuke leaned his head toward Naruto in utter confusion.

«You just made a funny. Or attempted to, at least.»

Sasuke shook his head before pointing to the chair with the bow. "Go sit down," he hissed irritably.

When Naruto sat, he gestured, «Are you _more_ relaxed now?»

Sasuke rolled his eyes and nodded. He readjusted his viola and then lifted his bow, his sudden intense stare signaling to Naruto that he was going to start playing.

Naruto watched as the raven played. He'd forgotten how intense it was to watch Sasuke. There was something terribly calculated and primed about the way he played. Unimpassioned and somewhat robotic. It _was_ true—Sasuke needed more expression.

Maybe it depended on the song, though. He didn't know really what this sounded like. But Sasuke's fingers were moving a bit tenderly over the strings. His face showed nothing though. And his shoulder was completely rigid.

But there was something about the way the muscles in his arms would visibly go taut. Or the way his fingers would shake in vibrato as he trailed his bow across the string.

Even though Sasuke wasn't playing as he had that one time at the group practice, there was still an intense attraction to his playing, something truly daunting about the way he played. This sort of playing suited him. He could never imagine Sasuke playing with the same kind of passion that Neji played.

He wondered what kind of song this was. He really wanted to hear it. Would it be strange if…

Agh, he couldn't. It was impossible. And bold.

But he wanted to hear it, damn it!

He suddenly brought his hand up, and Sasuke stopped immediately. «Is there a way for me to hear it?» he asked.

Sasuke paused and thought about it for a while. The violin and viola were tricky instruments, since they were so small. It would be difficult—intimate for _sure_—for Naruto to use a method in which he could 'hear'.

The only way Sasuke could think was…_ Oh…_

Naruto pointed at him suddenly, eyes going wide. «What sick idea do you have in your head?» he asked quickly.

Sasuke's face had quickly turned red.

Sasuke let out a short breath and canted his head slightly, eyes rapt on the blond before him. "You'll have to trust me," he ordered.

Naruto stiffened and stared at Sasuke warily before waggling his finger in question. If Sasuke wanted him to trust him, that meant that there was something _not _to trust. And that flustered him. He cleared his throat unsurely but nodded an assent.

"Sit," was the raven's simple order, pointing to the chair.

Naruto turned slightly to see the chair's location, and then he sat down, curled hands resting above his knees. He couldn't quite understand why he felt like a schoolchild at the moment. He lolled his head to the side when the raven shook his head in indecision, blinking oddly when Sasuke told him to stand again. _Why is he acting so weird?_

Sasuke sat in the seat that Naruto had just occupied and looked up at Naruto, his face that persistent shade. "Sit on your knees facing me."

Naruto furled his eyebrows but began lowering himself to his knees.

"No." Sasuke shook his head and, still holding onto his viola and bow, beckoned the blond closer with a curled finger. "Here." He pointed to a space right in front of him.

Naruto pointed to the space questioningly. _There?_

"Yes."

He pointed again.

"_Yes," _Sasuke repeated with trying patience.

Glancing sideways, Naruto was starting to understand why Sasuke had some amount of reserve about this. _He wants me to sit on my knees…? Right in front of him? _He took a few steps forward and slowly bent down to sit on his knees on the floor. He blinked up at Sasuke and swallowed uncomfortably.

Sasuke cleared his throat before spreading his legs and uncomfortably tucking the lower bout of the viola between his thighs so that the front of the instrument was facing Naruto. He tapped the shocked blonde's shoulder with the bow and tilted his chin to face him. "'This is called playing viola da gamba, even though this is a viola and not a _viol_,'" he explained. "'And _yes_, there's a difference,'" he responded just as Naruto was lifting his hands. He breathed out heavily and placed the bow between his lips. «Give me your hands.»

Naruto quietly lifted his hands and Sasuke quickly grabbed them and pulled them toward himself, which forced Naruto to shift closer to him until the blonde's forearms were resting over Sasuke's knees. He propped the butt of Naruto's palms against the front of the viola and curled the tips of the blonde's fingers around the sides and back.

«It won't be as good because I'm not used to playing like this,» Sasuke signed. «It's Bach's Ciaconna, transcribed for viola.»

Naruto nodded up at Sasuke impatiently, positioning his knees so that he was more comfortable. _It's sorta like a cello, _he thought.

Sasuke plucked a string and Naruto tilted his head at the tickling sensation. He then pulled his head back slightly when Sasuke's fingers and the bow pressed at the strings.

The amount of dedication it took for Sasuke to convey music to Naruto amazed the blond. It made it hard for him to doubt Sasuke's intentions, especially when he looked up at the raven and saw the intensity at which he placed, the tip of his lower lip tucked behind a tooth as he played the song from memory in such an awkward pose.

The body of the viola vibrated on the blonde's hands and he closed eyes for a few short moments, various colors staining the dark void as the bow dragged languidly across the strings. He didn't realize he'd stifled his breathing until he let out a rather winded pant a while later. He resumed breathing as normally as he could, but something in him held him from doing so, as if his breathing would somehow disrupt the strings from pulsing the correct way, as if breathing would keep him from being able to feel the music. He opened his eyes a short while later when the tempo changed in the song, his eyes captivated by the faster movements of Sasuke's reddened fingers.

He stiffly, furtively glanced up at the raven's determined expression—dark eyebrows curved downward, his jaw wired tightly with the clasped bones swelling his pale skin, his onyx bangs hanging and swaying in front of eyes staring in consternation at his own fingers.

That alien sensation bubbled in the pit of Naruto's stomach and he found the tips of his fingers hurting. Hunching his shoulders when the tempo slowed down again and Sasuke's finger slid down the neck of the viola, Naruto breathed out shakily before he reached a hand up and clasped it around the lower neck, effectively halting the Uchiha.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto and had to turn away for a short moment, completely unprepared for the blonde's expression. He clasped the tips of his fingers on the bow and was taken aback when Naruto pressed his hands atop his thighs, weightily pushing himself up.

Naruto tugged gently at the viola and Sasuke removed it, nearly gasping in surprise when the blond pulled him up, impulsively attaching his lips to the raven's with such intensity that Sasuke had to reach behind him to right himself against the chair before he fell.

_God…_

This was just too fast.

Sasuke clenched his sore fingers in Naruto's hair with equal tenacity and breathed out heavily before dipping his head down and nearly devouring the blonde's mouth.

Whether or not Naruto meant to utter his name was lost upon the raven's clouded mind, but the ensuing hiss that slithered past the blonde's lips caused Sasuke's inhibitions to switch off and his carnality to function in excess.

Literally, all sense of comprehension collapsed.

What roused him was an impassioned gurgle, a gloriously painful grip that Naruto had on his shoulder, and, opening an eye, he saw that the blond was as far-gone as he was, back plastered against the wall (which made the raven wonder exactly how their positions had changed, and when they had reached the wall), eyes lids lowered. Naruto grunted, dropping his head onto the raven's shoulder, and suddenly shifted in a way that made Sasuke widen his eyes in unabashed shock, causing him to realize where his knee had tucked itself.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke instantly, face going impossibly red.

Sasuke stepped away from Naruto instantly and gripped the blonde's shoulders at arm's length. When Naruto forcibly tried to advance _again, _something tightened around Sasuke's chest and he let out a short breath. "Naruto, stop," he said.

Naruto thinned his eyes inquisitively, tilting his head. "Why?" he asked quickly, clenching his jaws as if disturbed that he'd said that aloud.

Sasuke shook his head and answered, "I don't know."

_Fuck!_

"I don't _fucking _know," he repeated in confusion, turning away from Naruto and weaving a hand through his hair.

Naruto put his hand to his own forehead and used his other hand to readjust his shirt. He stared as the raven took a few unsure steps before stopping, surmising that the phrases coming out of his mouth were no more than the same string of expletives repeating over and over.

"_Sass'ge_…"

Sasuke stopped and looked at Naruto harrowingly. "I can't, Naruto."

"Wh…Sass'ge. I dun' un'rstan'." Naruto tried, honestly, to understand why Sasuke held back. Maybe it was because…_he'd_ hesitated for so long…? "Sass'ge, I _wan'__—_"

"It's _not that!" _Sasuke exclaimed as he stopped pacing, facing the blond, stopping him. "Naruto, it's not _that_!" He stalked toward Naruto and backed him into the wall. "Naruto. Naruto, listen." He clasped his hands desperately at Naruto's face. "What we have right now—it's fine."

Naruto opened his mouth to object.

"It's _enough._ Naruto." The raven paused and quickly bit at his lip, sucking his tongue in frustration. "Let it stay this way. For now."

Naruto's expression turned stony and he looked up at Sasuke without betraying anything on his face. Pushing the raven away gently as he could allow himself at the moment, he lifted his hands and gestured angrily. «Tell me why.»

When Naruto closed off any ability to speak with Sasuke, when he would only speak to him with his hands in this way, he was angry, and the raven had become aware of this fact over time.

"I just can't, Naruto. Not with you."

Damn it all, that came out wrong.

"Wait, Naruto. That's not what I mea—"

«Because I'm deaf,» Naruto supplied.

"'No! No, Naruto! Shit! That's not why. That's the farthest thing—'"

"Then wha'th' fug _is _i'?" Naruto groused. " 'f 's not that…wha'is i'?"

Sasuke couldn't find the right way to say it. He couldn't. And Naruto didn't wait for him to, either. Instead, the blond let out a frustrated growl and mussed his hair before leaving the practice room, slamming the door behind him.

"Damn! It!" Sasuke sat in the chair and shook his head.

He wasn't worthy.

Naruto deserved better than him.

**- Silent Sonata -**

He knew it. After all of this fucking time, Sasuke was just like the rest. Sasuke was just like everyone else. He was like that damn _bitch _that abandoned him a year ago at the amusement park because _he was _deaf. He scrubbed viciously at the table, at the damn spot on the table, and nearly growled aloud when it wouldn't. Fucking. Come out.

A finger tapped gently at Naruto's shoulder and he gripped tightly at the washrag in his hand before turning as calmly as possible.

"Hey, man, you've been in a pissy mood for the last couple of days," Suigetsu said as he adjusted the bin of dishes propped on his hip. "Is everything okay?"

It was now day three of being pissed off with Sasuke. It was day three of not talking to Sasuke, and he was fucking tired of it.

Naruto shook his head. «Everything is actually pretty shitty, thanks for asking,» he responded coldly.

Suigetsu curled his eyebrows.

Naruto sighed. Suigetsu didn't deserve that from him. To be honest, Suigetsu was starting to be less suspicious lately, and he was actually pretty okay to be around with. He dropped his shoulders. «Sorry.»

Suigetsu grinned at him, slapping a hand on his arm. "Hey, it's cool. Girl problems, yeah?" he asked.

Naruto lowered his eyes, clenching his jaws. Was he _that _transparent?

Suigetsu toothily smiled, digging his elbow into the blonde's side. "It _is, _you lady-killer!"

The blond glowered. «It's not any of your business!»

"Dude! I am an expert in relationships! An _expert_," Suigetsu said as he placed the bin on the table that Naruto had been cleaning. The restaurant was closed _anyway_; they could futz around for a couple of minutes. Naruto shook his head at him, and Suigetsu in return clasped his hand against his chest in comical version of offense. "Dude, try me! _Try _me!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and breathed out heavily. He tried to avoid Suigetsu like the plague, but damn was it hard to _get rid of him_. Especially because he _wasn't _half bad.

«It was a fight. Sorta. I dunno,» Naruto signed slowly. «I'm pissed at him—her!»

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Wait, wait, _wait_! You said him."

Naruto shook his head.

"Hm. I'm pretty fucking sure you did, actually." Suigetsu crossed his arms. "Listen, man, it's cool. I don't judge which way people swing, you know? Gay, straight, bi. I experimented when I was in high school, so whatever."

Naruto threw his head back in shock. «Really…?» he asked. «You don't strike me as the type.»

"Yeah, well neither do you," Suigetsu retorted, punching Naruto gently. "So what'd he do? Refuse to switch roles or somethin'?"

Naruto stared at Suigetsu with widened eyes, face burning. He blinked at the bleached blond before looking around the restaurant to see if TenTen was around. «That's not it at all!»

And why was he just talking about his relationship with someone he barely knew? Even though he questioned it in his mind, it was as if he couldn't stem the anger.

«He's just an ass. I want to be mad at him right now. Right now, I want to hold on to my anger, because all I used to hold onto in the past was self-pity, and I don't want to fall into that right now.»

Suigetsu nodded his head in understanding. "Well, not that I know what the problem is between the two of you, but I'm pretty sure that things must suck for him just as much, you know? Whatever happened to you guys, if you wanna talk about it, it's cool with me. But don't get pissed at me if I throw up my hands and say I'm neutral, you know?"

Naruto shook his head. «I don't want to think that he has his own reasons. For once, I want to hold on to my anger before I can find it in myself to let it pass.»

"Cool, bro. Sounds childish, but okay."

«An ass. He's just a fucking ass,» Naruto repeated. Perhaps if he said enough times, it would actually be true.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he reached for it almost _too _enthusiastically.

Flipping it open, he breathed out deeply when he saw who the message was from. Damn Bastard.

'Let's play,' was the simple message. He clucked his tongue and then looked up, almost gasping out in shock to see that Suigetsu was standing _right _in front of him. Possibly the bleached blond was close enough to have read the message.

Suigetsu grinned at Naruto naughtily, not understanding the full scope of the short message. He chuckled when Naruto took a step back. "Just remember how often he's _not _an ass as opposed to when he's an ass. I'm pretty sure the scale will tip in his favor, yeah?" Suigetsu asked.

_Damn you, Suigetsu, _Naruto thought. _I want to hold on to my anger! Stop being a voice of reason!_

'Saturday night,' he responded.

'Okay.'

'Come over _my_ place at 7. I get out early.'

**.o.**

Before Saturday came along, there was another off-period between the two. They didn't talk to each other for a day. But when Saturday morning came along, after a nice, long jog in the cold summer morning, Naruto felt clean, his mind clear. He considered Suigetsu's words, and though he couldn't understand, he tried to see things from Sasuke's perspective. So he messaged Sasuke.

'You're a jerk,' he started.

'No need to tell me twice,' was Sasuke's response a short while later. 'And why are you texting me at 8:30 in the AM on a Saturday?' was the other response.

'No, I need to tell you twice, in case you forget the first time. You're a jerk. And wake up.'

'I'm rolling my eyes at you at this moment. I'm going back to sleep.'

There was a bit of a break between their messaging until Sasuke resumed their conversation over an hour later. Naruto was already at work by this time.

'You have a fucking good heart. And I'm only going to tell you that once.'

'Don't get mushy on me, Sasuke. I was pissed at you for a couple of days, and it took a bit convincing from a workmate for me to get over it.'

'A workmate?'

'Yeah. Maybe I should go out with him instead.'

'Don't you fucking dare.'

Naruto hesitated for a moment, and the words that Suigetsu uttered rolled around in his mind. Gay, straight, bi. What was _he_? He most certainly wasn't attracted to men. He'd liked Sakura for nearly a month. He _had _a girlfriend when he was in high school. Or tried to. In reality that had lasted less than a day.

By the time he messaged Sasuke again, a couple of hours had already passed, and he was on his first break.

'What are we, Sasuke?'

'Huh?'

'I'm not gay, Sasuke. What are you?'

'…This is a strange conversation to be texting.'

'I don't think I could talk to you face to face about this. You're avoiding my question. You're flaming gay, aren't you? You wanted me in your league! You sneaky bastard!'

'I had an overcharged libido for three years, Naruto. I fucked anything that walked. I don't know what I am. Do I look flaming to you?'

'Are you saying that you're not gay?'

'I'm saying that I don't know what I am, Naruto. What do you want me to be?'

_What do I __**want **__Sasuke to be…? _Naruto thought.

He was already judged terribly because of his handicap. Everyday. For years. Now, people would judge him for being handicapped _and _having a partner.

He wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

'I dunno.' Maybe this _was _a strange conversation to be having as a message. Didn't phone companies have records of these things?

'Well I don't either.'

'Uh, I have to get back to work. I'll see you later. 7.'

'Uh-huh.'

Hours later, Naruto tiredly opened the door of his apartment, greeted instantly by Akamaru. The fox yipped at him and circled his feet after he closed the door. Kiba was home. He grinned, bending down to ruffle the fox's fur. The blond walked toward the kitchen and peeked in, seeing the brunette sitting at the table munching on some rice and vegetables. He waved at Kiba, and the brunette responded in kind but without an ounce of enthusiasm.

Hinata came by the pet store again today, by herself this time.

It would have made Kiba happy on any other occasion, but seeing her was just a manifestation of the fact that he was barely in Naruto's life anymore. That things were so different. Before, he'd tried to ignore it—he'd tried to move on and not hold it against Naruto, against his best friend.

Was it wrong that he couldn't stem his anger?

«Is something up, Kiba?» Naruto asked.

"Nah," Kiba said, shaking his head as he gave a small wave of dismissal.

«We haven't just hung out with each other since the semester started. It's almost over, though!» Naruto said in excitement. «Maybe we can head to our hometown for a couple of days or something.»

Kiba picked up his chopsticks in one hand, staring at his food for a pregnant moment before looking up at Naruto. "I'm working this summer. Not going anywhere."

Naruto nodded. «You can't even take off a couple of days? Like three?» Naruto asked.

"No," the brunet bit out.

Naruto gave a slow, measured nod. «Bad work day?» he assumed. Kiba dropped his head and gave a small nod. «Wanna work it off?» the blond asked with a grin. He twiddled his thumbs in a way that suggested they play video games.

Kiba let out a slow, patient breath. If Naruto wanted to exclude him from his life, then he may as well too, right? "I have finals. I need to study."

Naruto waved his hand in dismissal. «Oh come on! Half an hour! Let's play for half an hour!» he beamed. «Dude, I'll even let you beat m—»

"Do me a favor, Naruto," Kiba bit in coldly, tired of this conversation. "And just fuck off right now."

Naruto's grin dropped and he blinked at his friend, tilting his head. «What?»

"Just _fuck! Off!_"

And it was with the resolute way in which the brunet said it that made Naruto understand that something was _not right. _It made Naruto understand that their conversation had been very guarded since he'd walked in.

Kiba hadn't signed at all to him at all since he'd walked in.

«Kiba, what's the problem?» Naruto asked.

Kiba stood up from the table, breathing deeply to keep himself calm, and turned toward the sink to clean the pots and dishware, arms rapidly moving as he ignored the question.

Naruto clapped his hands to get the brunette's attention, paused when he got no answer, and repeated the action. He jumped in surprise when Kiba suddenly spun around, hurling the small chopstick-rest in his direction. He barely avoided it with a quick side-step and looked at Kiba as if he'd just been slapped in his face.

"You're the _fucking _problem!" Kiba finally answered.

Naruto's jaw dropped a little.

"Do you clap your hands at school? Is that how you get everyone's attention? Or do you just call them out by name?"

Oh.

_Damn._

Naruto hesitated for a moment before lifting his hands. «I was waiting for the right moment to talk to you about it…»

Kiba leaned against the counter and nodded sarcastically at the blond. "And when would that be?" he asked testily.

Naruto paused. «I…»

Jaws clenched, the brunet let out a puff of air from his nose, grinning condescendingly. "Would that be when you're done _fucking _Sasuke?»

Naruto's eyes widened and he tightened his fists before starting, «What are you talking about…?»

"What do you mean, What am I talking about? I _know _what's going on!"

How? How did Kiba know? A wave of nausea swept through him and with a simple gesture, he asked, «How?»

"_Damn it, _Naruto! The 'how' isn't what fucking matters!" Kiba yelled. Akamaru trotted into the kitchen with his ears pressed against his head, mewling in objection. "Shut up! Stupid fucking piece of shit!" he yelled angrily at the fox, jutting his foot toward it but stopping short of actually hitting the animal. Akamaru yipped in fright and skittered away from him toward Naruto.

"_Giba_!"

It was said with such shock and offense that it instantly caused the brunet to cover his face with his hand in regret, not towards Naruto, but to poor Akamaru, who didn't deserve this treatment. "Damn it. _Damn it!_" he yelled, facing Naruto.

«You're pissed, _fine_, but don't take it out on Akamaru!» Naruto gestured angrily.

"Fine!" Kiba said warningly before stalking toward Naruto. He grabbed the blond by the collar of his shirt and slammed his back into the wall.

"Giba, shtop't!"

He let go of Naruto and punched the wall beside his head.

"_Shtop't_!" Naruto growled out, all but punching Kiba away from him. "Wha's't you wan' fr'm me? Fugging tell me!"

Kiba's face turned red. "I _want _you to talk to _me_! Fucking talk to _Jiraiya_!"

Naruto looked up at Kiba silently, guiltily.

"I want you to under-fucking-stand that after three fucking years of not hearing you say a single fucking word, finding out from _someone else _that you're talking is a fucking insult. It's an _insult_!"

Unable to say a word, Naruto allowed Kiba to continue.

"I thought we were friends, Naruto! I didn't realize that it'd take you and Sasuke _fucking _to accomplish what we'd tried to do for three years. I didn't realize you had to become a fucking _faggot._"

It was as if his conversation with Sasuke just _hours earlier_ was rearing it's ugly head. He didn't know...what it was with him and Sasuke.

And why was Kiba using this to attack him?

Damn it, Kiba wasn't supposed to know. Not yet. Not like this.

"You take't ba'Giba," Naruto hissed, pushing him. "We're no'fugging! 'N 'm no'a faggot!"

"So you're going to act like there's nothing going on between you two? I know what's going on! Hinata fucking talked to me about it because she thought _I knew! _That _would've_ been normal!"

"There's nuffin' goin'on be'ween us!"

Lies.

"'m shorry f'r no'telling you! Can' un'ershtan' why you're pissed! Jus' didn' know how'o tell you!"

Kiba let out a bated breath, weaving his fingers through his messy dark hair. He turned away for a moment before facing Naruto. "'Sorry, but that's not gonna fix the problem we have right here.'"

Naruto clenched his jaws.

"'I'm not mad that you're talking. Fuck, that's not what I'm pissed at. Why you didn't fucking tell me is all!'" Kiba continued. "'I don't even fucking care about you and Sasuke. I thought you hated him. And then all the sudden, out of nowhere, Hinata talks to me about you two as if it's the most obvious thing.'"

"Nuh, nuh, Giba. There's nuffin'," Naruto lied again, reassuring his friend. "Can' e'en stan' him. He's'n ass!"

_Lies! _Why was he lying?_  
_

Kiba shook his head and walked toward the front door, grabbing the leash hanging on the coat rack. «You really don't need to cover it up and lie, Naruto. I need to take a walk,» he said silently, Naruto staring at him. «To cool off. Sorry for calling you a faggot. Absolutely out of line. But don't think this is over.» He jingled the leash and Akamaru quietly peeked around the corner before shyly sauntering toward him. He bent down, ruffled the fur atop the fox's head, and clasped the leash around it before turning to the front door, opening it.

The brunette stopped short when he saw Sasuke standing there, hand gripping the strap of his viola case tightly, jaws wired together. "Whoa…Oh, damn."

Shit.

"Sass'ge…" Naruto gasped out from behind Kiba.

Sasuke was supposed to come over.

How long…? God, no. If he heard—

"Sass'ge…" Naruto repeated, walking toward the door, nearly pushing Kiba aside. He reached his hand forward and Sasuke deflected the touch with the fast sweep of his hand, curling his fingers around the blonde's wrist.

Damn it, if he heard Naruto _lying._

Lying to save face.

Why did he fucking lie?

A ghost of a smile swept across the raven's lips when he finally _looked _at Naruto, and he gave a quiet nod to the blond. "Okay," he said simply, dropping Naruto's hand.

'Okay'? What did he mean by saying that…?

"Sass'ge."

The raven turned away and, with such a speed that Naruto thought impossible for someone carrying something as awkward as a viola on his back, took off down the hall.

"Sass'ge!" Naruto immediately bolted after him. "Sass'ge, wai'!"

The raven leapt down the flights of stairs and barreled through the building entrance, throwing his case into the back seat of the vehicle he was using. He ignored Naruto's call to him, climbing in the driver side quickly and revving the engine.

"Sass'ge! Sass'ge!" Naruto beat his hand against the driver window and called his name again. "Shtop, Sass'ge, shtop!"

He didn't want to hear that voice. Didn't want to see that fucking face.

Eyes trained forward, Sasuke warningly shifted into drive, turned his wheel from the curb, and drove off instantly.

"_Sass'ge!"_

He didn't want to hear Naruto's voice.

Fuck.

He reached forward and pressed his radio on, drowning out the person yelling behind him.

He didn't want to see that face, so he forced himself not to look into his rearview mirror.

He didn't want to believe that those fucking saintly eyes could look at him with such contempt. That he could lie to him, about him, just to fucking save face.

He didn't want to believe that the same voice that he'd come to love could say things that could tear him asunder.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**A/N: **It's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better.


	24. Part III: At the Altar, A Sacrifice

**A/N: **This story is winding down. There is not much more to it - perhaps four or five more chapters. I hope you 'enjoy' this chapter...

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka na Sonata**

**At the Altar, a Sacrifice  
**

**.o.**

**.**

It was possible that he could loose the trust of one person. No matter how virtuous he aimed to be, as a human, he was aware of the fact that he could never please everyone. But it wasn't as if _everyone_ in the world mattered to him.

What mattered to Naruto was that he betrayed the trust of not just one person. It was multiple people, but one of whom that he was beginning to…coming to…

He couldn't look at himself anymore and say that he was a good person. He felt disgusting. Naruto felt lower than dirt. He betrayed Kiba. He betrayed Jiraiya. He betrayed Sasuke.

(God, he'd betrayed even himself.)

He didn't know whom to feel worse for. When he'd turned around after seeing Sasuke peel away in his vehicle, he came face to face with Kiba, who had Akamaru's leash in his hand. And the look on his best friend's face…

That look of shame, that look of barely contained contempt, it was more than enough to tear him apart. Kiba looked at him as if to say, 'You just lied to me about your relationship on top of keeping secrets from me in front of the person you're having a relationship with.'

Naruto meekly walked toward his desk with all the exuberance of a sloth and a guilty conscience, hunching over the table after he sat down. He felt a gentle hand touch his arm (which he knew to be Hinata's), but didn't acknowledge her. He knew he had a few minutes until his class started, and he would much rather spend those minutes in solitude.

How would he go about apologizing to Sasuke…? To Kiba? How was he going to handle this? He didn't know what to do at this point. He'd spun a web and couldn't figure out where he'd started.

He lifted his head after another minute or so of skulking and let his eyes wander to the empty seat next to him.

«Did something happen to Sasuke?» Hinata asked discretely after gaining his attention.

He stared at the desk for a moment. Of course something happened to Sasuke. He lied about him. He hurt him.

It hurt even more to shrug to Hinata as if he didn't know the answer to her question. When would he stop?

**.o.**

Lunch was especially a difficult task. Ino, as per usual, was so steeped in her conversation that Naruto couldn't seem to concentrate on her.

Of course Sasuke wouldn't come to lunch either. How could he have expected him to?

Lee, who'd decided to grace everyone with his presence today, nudged Naruto quickly. "'Yo, Naruto!'"

Naruto lifted his eyebrows in question at Lee and then waggled his finger.

"'Where's Sasuke?'"

If he said he didn't know, would they consider him an incompatible, inconsiderate boyfriend? That _is _what he was, right? Sasuke's boyfriend? If he said he didn't know, would they think that there was something going on between the two of them? Some bad blood, perchance?

He didn't want to worry them.

«He has a final performance that he's been practicing for. He's in the practice room,» he answered. The first part was truthful, the second dubious. Not even he knew where Sasuke was.

"Oh," Lee answered with a nod. "So how're you guys doing with things? It's almost the end of the semester already. Finals? Recitals?" he asked.

Neji rolled his eyes at just the thought. _He _would only have one semester after this, and that was the last thing he wanted to think about. "I have five finals to get ready for. I just about want to kill myself right now," he muttered.

Hinata tilted her head and sighed. "At least you only have five, Neji…" she lamented. "I have seven. Five here and two at TouDai."

"Damn," Ino mumbled.

"And then on top of that, aren't you guys getting ready for your concert tour?" Sakura asked, wrapping her fingers around Lee's.

"Don't remind me," Neji groused. Of _course _he was happy that he was doing the tour. All the other stresses were making it difficult, though. At least it would be right before the very end of the semester. A welcome relief from all his pressures.

"So, can we visit one of the places you're going to be touring?" Ino asked.

"I wouldn't see why not…" Hinata answered after a second of thought.

"We'll have to ask Iruka, though," Neji started. "It's not like those schools are just going to let you guys waltz in there."

"True," Sakura piped.

"In that case, you'll probably have to come _with _us," Neji finished.

Sakura tapped Naruto's arm. He'd been distracted. «Are you okay…?» she asked him silently.

Naruto merely nodded in answer. No, he was not okay. He wanted to find Sasuke and apologize to him. He wanted to make things right with him. He wanted to let him know that after all these weeks of being so unsure of himself and of his feelings, he was sure now. He wasn't doubtful anymore. Sasuke needed to know.

A hand was placed on his wrist, and Naruto looked down. It was Sakura's. He hadn't even realized that he'd stood up.

"'Where are you going, Naruto?'" she asked gently. It was as if she knew, and Naruto instantly became guarded against her. She'd known Sasuke for years. What if Sasuke had told her?

No, Sasuke wasn't that type of person.

«Practice,» he answered shortly before grabbing his backpack and painfully plastering a smile so fake that he was sure they would never accept it. «I'll see you guys later.» When would he stop?

**-Silent Sonata-**

It was terrifying how well someone could lie, how well he could mask emotions. Sasuke had become quite adept in the field. He was able to transform any semblance of (he was extremely reluctant to say) _hurt _into a wall of indifference. He managed to keep it standing, though almost faltered, when later Monday evening he had to practice with the rest of his ensemble for the concert tour.

Seeing Naruto was nothing short of difficult.

He didn't care what Naruto had said about him to Kiba in the privacy in his home. He didn't fucking care what he said to Kiba. He couldn't care less if Naruto called him an ass—he knew he was one. He didn't care if Naruto said he couldn't stand him—there were many times he could stand Naruto. Those were truths.

What'd made him run from Naruto on Saturday was the fact that Naruto was ashamed and had lied because of that shame to save face.

Naruto may have the most cherubic, if not mischievous, face in the world, but Saturday evening told him that Naruto was an ugly coward. And that didn't make him angered toward Naruto at all.

It in truth made him pity Naruto more than anything. Naruto was still a little weak. He still allowed society to dictate him somewhat, and he'd be damned if he'd always be there when Naruto felt like acting like a Sob Story or he felt like lying just to protect himself. Naruto needed to learn that those times he felt like giving in, Sasuke would be no part of it.

At the same time, he'd wanted to tell Naruto that _he _was the weak one. Naruto was a fighter. And for every count of strength that Naruto had, it made Sasuke feel as equally diminished and weak. Like a mere blade of grass to a wind, he'd yielded and bent to every whim and will of his parents, to society, to the point where he didn't know what he wanted for himself in life. There was a strength that resided in Naruto that the blond couldn't see himself, and Sasuke couldn't compare himself to it.

So what was he to do when he was completely, totally, and utterly wrapped up and entangled with Naruto to the point of being so hurt by him? It made him weak!

Being so hurt by Naruto felt wrong. Right now, seeing Naruto so guilty about his actions while he practiced with Kankurou felt even worse.

But all he would show Naruto was indifference, because Naruto needed to know that he wasn't the _only person that existed_.

Damn it.

Naruto was a curse. An unholy curse! Watching him play this beautiful song with too good an accuracy made him want to set down his wall of indifference and hold Naruto. He wanted to walk over from his seat and bend down and wrap his arms around Naruto's shoulders and press his chest against the blonde's back. He wanted to melt into Naruto.

He wanted to tell Naruto to meet him halfway. He wanted to tell Naruto to take just that one step forward and just _talk _to him. He wanted to tell Naruto that no matter how much he could possibly hurt him, he'd already forgiven him.

After all, he _was _too weak.

So when would this stop?

**-Silent Sonata-**

Naruto could understand a day not talking to Sasuke. Maybe two. But it was now 4 days since his incident with Sasuke. They only had a few more practices with each other as a group like this before their little tour would start.

Hinata and Neji were performing a piece at the moment, but Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off of Sasuke. Sasuke, on the other hand, was leaning forward in his seat, elbows rooted to his knees and hands entwined before his drawn lips. He looked like he was praying, but was more than likely in the throes of contemplation.

Sasuke looked worse for wear, disheveled, troubled. It seemed somewhat presumptuous to think that he was at fault for putting Sasuke in this position, but it was altogether the truth.

His dark eyebrows were gnarled and his eyelids slowly closed over his dark grey eyes, and Naruto could see Sasuke stifle something back before opening his eyes again and fixing them to Hinata and Neji once more.

Naruto's mind went completely blank at seeing Sasuke's eyes set on the music playing before him and for a moment he lost all concept of time. He became physically nauseated when Sasuke's dark grey eyes shifted from their false concentration and settled on him instead. He straightened slightly, and Sasuke's eyes slowly lolled to the direction in which Iruka was standing. It was a subtle cue, a faint demand of attention.

"So the lineup will be as follows, guys," Iruka started. "We're going to start first with Hinata opening with her solo by Saint-Saens. And then we'll…"

At that point, Kurenai handed each of them a photocopied piece brightly colored, blue paper that showed the line-up. Naruto took the paper but kept his eyes up at Kankurou, who always graciously translated for him without needing him to ask.

Where _was _Gaara? He'd have to find a way to visit him. For Pete's sake, they were both living in the same city! They'd have to run into each other eventually anyway…

Gaara always had this strange if not violent way of 'talking' sense into Naruto without the use of words. Right about now, Naruto felt that he needed that type of treatment.

Iruka looked at his watch and noted that it was already well past ten and nearing eleven. Their practices for the last two weeks had been running past the allotted time, but no one seemed to complain at all. His students were troopers, that they were. Hinata and Neji lived almost forty minutes away but not a word of protest would come from their lips!

"Guys," the professor started. "It's fifteen minutes to 11. Do we want to end now or just continue with the last piece?" Generally, each piece was about five to eight minutes long, with the exception of Hinata's first solo, which was why she had two, but it took another twenty or so minutes to get through minutiae.

_Agh! Let's finish now! _Naruto thought. Because the only piece they hadn't gotten a chance to agonize over was his and Sasuke's duet.

"Eh," Temari shrugged her shoulders tiredly. "'We may as well just do their piece and be complete for the night.'"

"'You guys okay with that or no?'" Iruka asked Naruto, gesturing his hands as adeptly as possible.

Naruto paused and chanced a glance at Sasuke, who looked altogether the same as he'd looked all evening: completely indifferent.

Sasuke laced his fingers through his hair to push back his bangs as he sat straight in his seat. "I'm fine with it," he answered, leaning down to pick up his viola and bow.

Naruto breathed in deeply and turned to Iruka with an expression that more or less suggested that he may as well play. But fear was gripping him like foreign fingers clawing at his stomach. This would be the first form of interaction between the two of them for a little over fourdays. Even if it was musical, he worried how the strain in their relationship would translate into the piece.

With all the objectivity of a professional, Sasuke dutifully stood up and took a couple of steps from the piano, facing Naruto. Naruto averted his eyes for a moment as guilt built up in him again like a rumble of thunder coming closer and closer to him. Was the electricity between them tangible?

Hinata settled a chair next to him so that she could turn the pages for him. While Iruka had confidence that he'd memorized the piece, there was always the chance that he would for some reason or another forget his spot, get confused, and botch the whole thing up, so Hinata was there to change the pages for him.

He settled his blue eyes on Iruka to cue him to start, and he did. Sasuke raised his viola and tucked it under his chin. Naruto turned back to the piano and settled his fingers over the chords. _Okay, I have to be professional right now. There have been plenty of duos that actually hated each other but performed with each other anyway._ The difference was that he didn't _hate_ Sasuke—not in the least. _Okay. Go. _He started, pressing his fingers against the chords temperately before looking up at Sasuke. A few chords later, Sasuke began.

When they'd practiced together in the past, Sasuke had told him that he would always let him know with faint movements that he needed to play quieter, louder, slower, faster—anything that he needed to do to execute the piece in a fine manner. They'd created signs that wouldn't inhibit their movement, that people wouldn't notice.

He was so accustomed to Sasuke's subtle movements. So he kept his eyes on Sasuke for any indications. The raven suddenly pitched his eyes toward him, slipped his eyes closed, but quirked a single brow.

_You're playing a little too slowly, _the small gesture said. _Speed it up if only a little._

He responded in kind to the gesture. _Okay, this isn't so bad… _he thought. Sasuke _was _detaching any qualms he had with Naruto.

_Not loud enough, Naruto. _Another camouflaged gesture.

_No, no, Naruto. Loud doesn't mean fast. Slow down._

_Good, Naruto._

And then a facial expression, a gesture that he expected _least _to see from Sasuke.

A quirk at the corner of his lip, eyes thinning in a non-aggressive manner.

It was the smallest, most quieted indication of a contentment, and it said something to Naruto.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Three days later, on Sunday evening, Naruto knocked on the frame of Chouza's open office door. When the burly man looked up and saw him standing there, he invited Naruto into the office.

"'What's up, Naruto?'" Chouza asked.

Naruto, thinking the wiser against gesturing to Chouza, had been prepared to speak to his boss about this matter. He pulled out his digi-pad (which, in retrospect, he realized that he hadn't used for the longest time to communicate with people in this restaurant) and wrote up a message to the other man.

'Remember how I told you a while ago that I had a small ensemble tour going on near the end of my semester coming up?'

After reading the message, Chouza looked up at Naruto and grinned at him. "Yeah, of course I remember, Naruto!" he answered. "I already gave you Thursday through Saturday off."

'Yeah, and thanks so much for that! But I talked to Suigetsu, and they're going to ring in a favor for me. Remember how the other week I sort of fell off the bicycle 'cause I hit a pot hole? And then how last week I slipped in the kitchen and fell on my shoulder?'

Chouza thought back on it. Naruto had a pretty bad week that time. Truth be told, from time to time, his employees would take a nasty fall or cut themselves or something of the sort. He finally said, "Yeah, I remember that. What of it?"

Naruto canted his head in apprehension before typing up his next few words carefully. 'Well, I kind of don't want to have a another episode before the tour. I don't want anything to affect my playing like a sprained wrist or something. I was thinking of taking off for Tuesday just in case. Like I said before, I already talked to Suigetsu about it, and he said that he'd cover me on that night.'

Chouza grumbled to himself, placing his chin in a fist. "Hm," he murmured. "Well if he said he'd cover your shift, then it's fine. I just wish you guys wouldn't do these things so last minute."

Naruto nodded. 'I'm really sorry about that. I just thought it would be logical.'

"Alright then. If that's it, then you can go," the older man said dismissively.

Naruto nodded and turned away, heading to the locker room to grab some things out of his locker. He avoided Suigetsu on the way there, who was altogether _too _good at detecting that he was still having problems with his 'boyfriend'. Maybe on Wednesday after practice, though, he would stop Sasuke and they would work out their problem.

**.o.**

_Okay, almost done, _Naruto thought as he typed away a few last words of his research essay for Ibiki. Even though he essay _was_ his final exam, the professor wanted to see a rough draft. And damn all of his _other_ exams. He was beginning to worry about them on top of worrying over the tour at the end of the week. At least his two general education ones were already out of his way, hopefully. He was doing well enough in the class that he would be exempt from taking them as long as he aced the last test. He stopped suddenly when he felt a phantom vibration in, clicking his tongue when, even though he _knew _that his phone wasn't there, he reached into his pocket and found it empty.

Where the hell could his phone be? It'd be, what, two or so days now that it was missing. He'd tried the whole 'retrace your footsteps' thing, and couldn't find the phone anywhere. And it wasn't as if he was addicted to his phone or anything, but this was the only way that he could communicate with someone when necessary. So if someone was contacting him for any reason within the past few days, he sure wasn't getting their message.

He surely hoped that he was missing nothing important. What…what if Sasuke had decided to text him…? To meet up and talk with him? What if he'd wanted to meet at the park to work things out, but instead he sat out there for nearly an hour before he came to the harrowing conclusion that—just as he'd thought—Naruto was too cowardly to show up?

As highly unlikely that it seemed that Sasuke would text him, his mind started webbing into different scenarios that could be taking place because of his not answering Sasuke's supposed text.

What if Sasuke thought he was trying to ignore him? What if Sasuke became extremely depressed aside from being angry that he wasn't responding? What if Sasuke had been kidnapped and his kidnapper was using his phone to contact the person he messaged most for ransom? And what if said kidnapper decided to kill him because the ransom was not met?

He was _definitely _exaggerating with the latter scenario.

More than certainly, Jiraiya was texting him about the book. _Silent Sonata_ was to be released to the public tomorrow. He was anticipating it's release, both excited and slightly nervous about picking the book up from a shelf and reading it. He wanted to know what Jiraiya had meant when he said that he was printing this book for a very specific purpose. Well tomorrow he would know why.

_Okay, Naruto, think. Think, _he thought as he nestled himself into the cushions. He'd first realized that the phone was missing on yesterday morning when he'd _barely _gotten up in time to catch the bus to the campus. But maybe it'd been misplaced before that? Maybe on Sunday ni—

Naruto slapped his forehead when he finally thought of where his phone could be. If it wasn't here, and it wasn't at school, then it _had_ to be at work. He'd talked to Chouza about taking some time off, and then he'd gone to the break room. Maybe he'd left it in his locker when he was taking things home with him that night!

He looked quickly at the time in the corner of his laptop screen. Okay, so it was 9:52, so if he ran there, he could get to the restaurant just after it closed and everyone would still be there to clean up! He saved his document, quickly threw on a shirt over his t-shirt, and headed out the door, reaching into his pocket to check his time on his phone.

Right. Not there.

He rushed down the stairs and out of the building and broke into a sprint toward the restaurant. When he got there, the front door was already locked and a couple of lights were off.

"Damn," he murmured. He knocked on the glass door and hoped that they didn't think he was just a customer.

Speaking of which, he couldn't see Shikamaru cleaning the floor or the tables. That was usually his first order of business after the restaurant closed. Maybe he was taking out the trash. He knocked again, hoping that maybe TenTen would hear him or Chouji or even Suigetsu or _anyone _that was working_, _but no one came to the door.

That was a bit more abnormal…

He peered beyond the glass door, fingers cupping over his eyes for a better view, but he really couldn't see anything. He sighed and pulled away from the door, tilting his head, and decided to go toward the back entrance.

He passed a very heavy set man walking toward him, smoking, but smiled at him congenially and turned down the alleyway until he reached the back door. He canted his head again at seeing the door open, light streaming from the restaurant into the darker alleyway, but no one coming out. He paused. Too strange. He stepped into the kitchen and then stopped short at seeing—of all people—_Mizuki _leaning against the counter, seemingly talking to someone beyond the door that he just couldn't see.

Oh great, if Chouza was rehiring him…

Mizuki stopped his conversation for a moment and turned to Naruto. He gave the blond the most unsettling smirk, a dark eyebrow cocked, before turning back and resuming whatever conversation he was having with whomever, but now speaking with a different air.

Something about that just didn't feel right.

He couldn't determine what Mizuki was talking about because he wasn't facing him, but there was something wrong. Deciding to step closer toward the bleached blond, he peered past the door and widened his eyes.

What the hell…

Mizuki most certainly wasn't alone. That girl, the one with that red hair that he'd bumped into a while ago was there. And that other guy. The one that had been in the park with Mizuki…

Both of them were standing over someone.

Why…?

Before he knew it, Mizuki turned toward him and said, "Yo, Naruto, it's cool. I thought you weren't gonna come at all. Seems like you're just late. I said 10, dude." It was a cunning display of improvisation.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the male, connecting them and unable to understand what he meant by those words. He turned toward Shikamaru and lifted his hands. «What's going on…?»

It wasn't as if he didn't know (because somewhere in the corner of his mind, the truth tickled his bones and he _knew_ what was happening here, but another feeling of denial passed through him). This was all too much. A sudden movement at the swinging doors of the kitchen stirred him, and two more people came in from the main lobby, each carrying a weapon and one carrying a weighted bag on his shoulder. One of them, another female, stopped short at seeing Naruto, and then looked at Mizuki, saying something to him.

And then he saw Mizuki say something back to her that made his knees weaken for a moment.

"Yeah," Mizuki started. "This is the kid that I told you was gonna be out ticket in the end."

_What…?_

Everyone turned toward Naruto in disbelief, but Suigetsu's expression was the hardest to gauge.

Wait.

Wait, he _definitely_ knew what was going on here. Something fucking big was going down right now, and he was the convenient scapegoat that'd walked into the restaurant at the wrong time for himself, but at the right time for them.

He stared at Mizuki incredulously and then shook his head. _Shitshitshitshit…_ Naruto thought. What the _fuck _was he supposed to do in a situation like this? When Chouza already suspected that he was having dealings with Mizuki?

And with the blink of an eye, something strange happened, the proverbial tables turned, and Suigetsu said something that caused a few of them to pause for a moment, looking at each other anxiously for some type of guidance. A sudden bout of mayhem ensued that strangely didn't involve Suigetsu, or that redheaded girl, or even that tall, muscled guy:

The guy with the bag headed for the back door, and Naruto, not thinking, bolted after him, understanding full well that that was money from the register and safe, and he intended fully on getting that money back for Chouza. He'd be damned if they tried to destroy Chouza and Chouji's livelihood and make him look like a viable accomplice. The guy, even weighed down with about thirty pounds of money, was fast, but Naruto kept up with him, even when he rounded a few corners.

What Naruto _didn't _expect when he rounded that last corner was for that large, burly man that he'd seen smoking earlier to be _waiting _for him, and when he crashed into that figure, he went _down. _

It certainly wasn't for long, because said heavy-set man picked him up like he weighed nothing more than that sack of money he was trying to retrieve and slammed his back against the wall. He saw the guy with the bag scream something to the large man and flinched when he saw a fist hurling towards his torso.

He curled up on himself after he was dropped to the ground and couldn't suppress an audible bark of pain when something particularly hard was hurled into his torso again. And then he felt it—god, he _felt _something crack within his body.

A moment passed before he felt someone jostling him to his feet, and he didn't expect to see Mizuki standing behind his attacker, grinning at him, winded and red-faced.

The bleached blonde grinned at him. "Damn, Naruto. You were just at the wrong place at the _really _wrong time. Bad for you, but so great for me." He turned over to one of his cohorts—the one with the bag of money—and said something before said accomplice took his crowbar from a strap behind him and handed it to Mizuki. He graciously took the crowbar and turned toward Naruto.

"You don't know how badly I've been waiting to do this," he murmured darkly, and Naruto's chest began thrumming from the force of his nervous heartbeat. "So…_badly_…" A pause. "And look at that—now I get my chance."

The pain was unbearable as the crowbar connected solidly with his side, and he yelped vociferously before shutting his eyes.

This couldn't be happening to him. This couldn't be—

Oh god, it hurt. He didn't know what was coming from where, but it hurt, and something broke, and he screamed.

When his back was pushed against the brick wall again and he was forced to look at Mizuki, he couldn't suppress his shiver of foreboding. His body was too tired to concentrate on what Mizuki was saying. But he _did _catch something at the end.

"So…you _do _have a voice, huh…?" Mizuki asked menacingly.

Naruto clasped his lips together and stared at Mizuki with widened, terrified eyes. But then he lowered his eyebrows and gave a small, slight shake of his head, letting the other male know that he had some dignity left, and he was more than reluctant to let it go at Mizuki's whim.

"I wanna hear it again."

_Wh—_

"Hnh!"

Colors exploded before his eyes, and not the way in which he was accustomed to.

"Oh, shh, shh," Mizuki responded soothingly. "It's okay, dude." It was terrifying how both aggressiveness and benevolence could be manifest in a person, but the hand resting against Naruto's cheek in such a placating manner actually managed to alarm Naruto more than dispel any fears.

And still, he struggled angrily against the burly man holding him back because Mizuki was one _sick _fuck.

When Mizuki pulled up Naruto's wrist and plastered his dirtied palm against the brick wall, something in him screamed in alarm, and there was a thrumming at the base of his sternum.

"Don't you need these…?" Mizuki asked curiously, gently fiddling his fingers on, around, between Naruto's fingers. "You know, to talk and stuff?"

Naruto tightened his hand into the fist and barreled it toward Mizuki, just a breadth too short of actually making contact.

"_So _close," Mizuki tutted.

He shouldn't have gone after his phone. He should have just stayed home and finished his essay.

This would never have happened. He braced himself when he saw Mizuki pull his arm back. Not the hand. Not the hand.

_Not my hands…_

_Oh god, please, not my hands._

Music and talking and—no, no, no, the concert tour in another two days!—all being torn away from him in a way that he couldn't possibly imagine—

"Let's see how you'll do with a broken hand."

He struggled desperately. And then…

A flash of white exploded before his eyes as he felt pain blossom from the tips of his fingers and quickly spread like wild-fire through his body, making his knees weaken, making his toes thrum. It was so intense that he stopped breathing for a moment and could only utter out a shaking, nauseated groan before his vision turned black momentarily.

When he blinked his eyes open after who knows how long, he was on the ground, there were red lights flashing about him, and he writhed like a worm in the sun for a second before letting out a horrible keen and cradling his broken hand to his chest.

Feeling hands upon him, he thrashed in fright in a delusion that coated his senses, wailing as the pain in his hand pulsed throughout his entire body, intensifying every other pain. The hands pulled away from him, but one pair remained, caring, and his wail drifted into nothing more than tired pants, bits of rock and other earth matter filling his mouth.

He gasped suddenly as his own mangled hand was jostled from his chest in a firm but gentle grip, the agony so great that instead of a protest, a painful darkness quickly coated his vision once more before he could see that he was safe. This time, he was safe.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**A/N: **I warned you ._.


	25. Part III: Post Sacrificium, Salutem

**Comment**: Warning: There is a lot of head tilting in this chapter. By the way, I got a very angry review from chapter 24. My reviewer told me that she was sick and tired of reading stories where people get raped and things like that, and she also told me that I sickened her and disgusted her. Just so you guys know: **Naruto was not raped at the end of the last chapter, nor was he raped at any time in this story. ****  
**

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka no Sonata**

**Post Sacrificium, Salutem  
**

**.o.**

**.**

Prying himself away from this darkness was far more difficult than he'd anticipated. There was nothing more disjointing than when nothing but black consumed him. He felt like he was floating, unable to tell which way was up, drowning and suffocating. Perhaps this was what death felt like, but either way, getting away from it was no easy feat.

Something pulled him away from the encasing darkness, a strange and repetitive, whisper-like touch that slowly stroked the darkness further and further away from him, until finally, Naruto opened his eyes. They closed again against his will, the lids heavy, and he struggled to open them.

All he could see was white—a whitened ceiling, a white wall to his right, an aged pale hand to his left, all leading to a white crown of hair.

_Jiraiya…_

Said man's face changed for a short moment, twisted in a way, before his features softened again.

Suddenly, it was like everything was okay. Everything was right. He could curl up right now into his chest and feel a strange measure of safety. Jiraiya was here.

"Hey," Jiraiya said to the youth resting on the bed below him. His thumb was still gliding gently above the blonde's brow, his fingers cradling the side of Naruto's face. When Kiba had told him that Naruto was speaking again, he didn't believe him.

But just now…Naruto had whispered his name brokenly.

"'How are you feeling, kid?'" Jiraiya asked, gesturing.

Naruto, looking up at his surrogate father, clenched his jaw and lifted both of his hands to answer, and then stopped.

The sound that then tore from his lips gutted Jiraiya from the deepest of his bowels.

One of Naruto's hands was firmly wrapped in gauze and a splint that ended right at the tips of his fingers. The other was had a cast over his palm and slightly past his wrist.

"Relax, Naruto. Kid. Kid, relax," the older man had to repeat when Naruto began shaking his head in disbelief. He fixed his hands on the blond, one on his neck and the other on his shoulder, and held him steady. "Look at me Naruto, look at me."

But he couldn't. Naruto couldn't look at Jiraiya. All he could think of was how this wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't a part of what he'd pictured. This wasn't _right_! Feeling a less-than-gentle squeeze on his shoulder forced him to finally look at Jiraiya.

"Naruto, it'll be okay," Jiraiya said slowly, pointedly, giving the blond a solemn nod and staring at him as if his eyes alone could solve everything.

Naruto was so completely angered and distraught that he couldn't figure out how to react. He reached up his bound hand and tightened his fingers around the roots of his hair before letting out an exasperated breath, clenching his jaw.

How was he going to communicate like this? How was he going to play piano like this? How were he and Jiraiya going to pay for all of this? He knew that insurance could only cover _so much._ Lost in his own turmoil, lost in a silent world, Naruto couldn't hear the words that burbled from deep within Jiraiya after the surrogate father clasped him to his chest, fingers tightened over his neck and in his hair. He could barely register the rumbling of Jiraiya's voice from his chest cavity. He could feel a firm kiss pressed into his hair for a good minute.

In all of his current misery, he couldn't bring himself to cry.

When Jiraiya pulled away from Naruto, he was surprised to see such anger radiating from him, but not allowing it to perturb him, he grasped Naruto's jaws and said, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm so very sorry." He couldn't suppress the feeling of his eyes stinging, tearing up. But he could save his tears for when he was alone. Now, Naruto had to see that he had control, that he was strong, that he was strong for the past hour that he'd spent in the hospital.

Naruto merely glanced downward, head still, and trained his eyes on the IV drip growing out of his arm. He couldn't think. After a moment, he looked back up at Jiraiya. Finally, he said "How lon'…?" before wiring his jaws again, nervous at how Jiraiya would react to hearing his voice.

Jiraiya let out a sound that fluttered somewhere between a laugh and a cry upon hearing Naruto's voice again. His joy and surprise was so unbounded that his thumb gently pressed against Naruto's lip. It had been years since he heard that voice. How it matured. How Naruto matured.

The blond immediately tightened his lips and winced when Jiraiya gently ruffled his hair. Then the older man responded. "'About a week to two weeks for your sprained wrist. You fell on it the wrong way when you were catching yourself from your fall. And about six weeks for your short arm cast. Your third metacarpal was fractured.'"

_Shit!_

«You can actually leave the hospital today. You were unconscious when you arrived in the hospital yesterday evening so they put you in a medically induced coma so that you wouldn't wake up with the worst of the pain after they set your hand.»

Naruto gave a solemn nod. So the tour was tomorrow.

"Ah!" Jiraiya started, lifting his eyebrows. He tapped Naruto to get Naruto's attention. When the blond looked back up at him, he began, «One of your classmates was here for a few hours last night. He left earlier this morning to get some rest.»

_Sasuke…_

How long did he stay at the hospital…?

Jiraiya felt his phone vibrating and picked it up, turning away to speak. A few moments later, he turned back to Naruto, shutting his phone and pocketing it. «Naruto…There are a few men who need your statement of what happened yesterday evening. They need to make sure that you weren't involved at all.»

_Of course I wasn't involved! _Naruto wanted to scream.

"'They're coming up right now.'"

Naruto felt his chest thrumming as the silence that ensued passed for a couple of minutes until the door to his bedroom opened. One walked in with a tripod and a video camera in his hand. But when the two others walked into the room Naruto was more surprised than nervous. "Hello, Naruto," the taller gentlemen said, and the other greeted with a simple, but uneasy 'Hello…'

It was Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, and Suigetsu. He couldn't possibly fathom why they were here, seeing as Itachi was a detective, and a case of this sort was probably far below the level of the cases he regularly handled. And after last night, he didn't know what to think about Suigetsu…but seeing him right now wearing a pair of slacks, and a button up shirt with a vest over it was the last way he would expect to see his workmate dressing.

He stared at them in grave suspicion.

The gentleman with the camera and tripod began setting it up near Naruto's bed, and the blond tensed.

"Please relax Naruto. We know most of what happened. We just need your side of this story so that we can fully implicate Mizuki."

Naruto then widened his eyes when Suigetsu started signing to him very fluently. "'I'm sorry that I lied to you that I don't know sign language very well. The truth is, I'm a linguistic liaison, so I'm fluent in sign language and a couple of other languages.'"

Naruto merely lowered his brows in both confusion and scratched his ear tentatively. This was difficult to process. Suigetsu was a linguistic liaison? A _liaison_? As in, he had a position of power…? What the _hell_ was going on…?

The other policeman finished setting up the camera and began recording. He informed Itachi that he would be standing outside of the room and then left.

Itachi then turned to Jiraiya. "I'm sorry, ah…"

"You can call me Jiraiya," the older gentleman said.

"Um, Mr. Jiraiya, this is going to be official business at the moment, so we ask that you please step out of the room to allow the three of us some privacy."

Jiraiya gave a single nod before standing up. He stretched his back as covertly as possible, ruffled Naruto's hair again, and said. «I'll be back, kid.»

Naruto nodded and then watched as Jiraiya walked out of the room. Itachi, as the older man was passing by, gave Jiraiya a reassuring pat on the shoulder before he and Suigetsu each pulled up a seat. Suigetsu sat directly behind Itachi, but angled his seat so that Naruto could see him gesturing.

Naruto's fingers began drumming against his leg as his nervousness grew.

"'Seriously, Naruto, you don't need to be nervous,'" Suigetsu said.

Naruto lifted his hands to make a reply and then winced when he once again remembered that he couldn't sign. He lowered his eyes in frustration. He looked back up when Suigetsu tapped on the bed.

"'I'll be translating Itachi for you for two reasons. One, you will not be able to pick up on everything he says by just reading his lips, and two, this statement is being recorded. We need the interaction between the three of us to be as official as possible. Since both of your hands are immobile, please realize that you will need to give us verbal answers to our questions.'"

Naruto was terrified. He was absolutely terrified. What if he said something wrong?

"Please state your name," Itachi said, to which Suigetsu translated.

There was a slight pause. And then, clearing his throat, Naruto answered, "Us'magi' Naruto Leona'd."

"Please state your race."

Naruto gave the two of them a quizzical stare. He couldn't see how this was pertinent. Didn't they already have a file on him anyway…?

"Please state your race."

He struggled. "Sh'ree gua'ter Aus...'ral'n, one gua'ter Shap'nese…"

"To repeat, you are three-quarters Australian, and one-quarter Japanese," Suigetsu said aloud.

Naruto nodded.

The next series of questions furthered the notion that his involvement with Mizuki had been a very dangerous one. All of the question revolved around when he'd moved to Tokyo, why he moved there, when he'd started working at the restaurant, how it'd come about, why he decided to work there especially so soon after Mizuki was fired, where he was on such-and-such dates, if he's ever had a criminal record or ever had any trouble with authority figures in general. Perchance he should have never gone for the job at Akamichiraku's. His eagerness to find a job didn't exhaust _all _his possibilities, and even Naruto had to admit that sometimes this eagerness was more of a foible than a forte.

But finally, Itachi got to the meat of the interview.

"Where were you yesterday around one p.m.?"

"Coll'g."

"And between five p.m and ten p.m.? Where were you?"

"Home, worgin' on my esshay…"

"Do you have an alibi for this?"

Naruto shook his head guiltily. Of course, he was home by himself last night. Anytime someone is home by him or herself, their alibi is rather shoddy. He should have just finished that _damned _essay before leaving the apartment. Wait…Oh, wait! "Hidd'n files?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Itachi asked.

With difficulty, Naruto tried to form the syllables with his sprained hand, and winced in the process.

"Hidden files," Suigetsu answered.

"Meaning…?"

"'Ah, there is a feature on Windows computers where if you show the hidden files, Word documentaries will show up as separate documents whenever you save them, and they will show up in whatever file they are in,'" Suigetsu explained, gesturing so that Naruto could understand what he was saying.

"Oh, yes," Itachi nodded. "This is very true. Mm." He nodded again. He then looked at Naruto. "We will need to confiscate your desktop or laptop as soon as possible so we can log those saved times as your alibi, then."

Naruto nodded after a moment of Suigetsu's gesturing. Anything to free him of any incriminating charges.

"Ah, continuing. Why were you at the Akamichiraku restaurant yesterday, knowing that the store would be closed at the hour that you arrived?"

Naruto let out a breath. Now that he thought about it, _really _thought about it, Mizuki had been right last night. He'd come at the right time—for Mizuki, that is. To be honest, if he'd been an outsider looking in on this whole thing, he would probably think himself a guilty accomplice as well.

He looked up at Suigetsu when the male tapped his hand on the bed.

"Please answer the question," Itachi said.

"Re'lise my phone was there, so I wen'chu get i'…Mm…I'd losht i'for a coup'e days…"

Itachi paused for a moment, eyebrows crinkling slightly, and then said, "Please pardon me, but for the purpose of this recording, please explain to us the use of a phone for you in particular…"

"Te'ting and e-mail." At least he could wriggle his fingers to explain the word.

"Is this your only available form of long-distance communication?"

Naruto nodded in answer.

"So it is _imperative_ that you have your phone with you at all times," Itachi conjectured. Naruto nodded once again. "How long was it lost again?"

"Two or f'ree day…" He tried gesturing the numbers at least. He gestured as much as possible, actually, without hurting himself too much—mostly because sign was so ingrained in him that his body would automatically go through that type of motion.

"Two or three days?"

Naruto nodded.

"What made you decide that it was at your workplace?"

"Went'ere on Sunday t'call out for yesh'terday, and lef' my phone in my logger." Naruto answered. Somewhere distantly in his mind, in a little corner, he wished that he could hear himself. He wondered what he sounded like.

"Hn, yes," Itachi picked up. He opened a file and skimmed through it. He then looked at Naruto, and said, "According to this work schedule, you _were _supposed to work last night, but you approached your boss on Sunday and asked for the night off."

Naruto nodded.

"Yes, according to your boss, Chouza, you did this—" Itachi glanced at his file and back up at Naruto again, "because of an…school _venue _for tomorrow. Why take off so early in advance? It was, after all, coincidentally the night of the robbery."

"I, mm… I didn' wanna hur' m'hand—" he gave a sad, ironic chuckle, holding up his hand. "I…do piano."

"So this function involves…" Itachi started.

"Music," Naruto answered.

"You're telling me that you didn't want to jeopardize your ability to be involved with your school function by working or doing anything strenuous."

"Mm," the blond nodded, somewhat surprised at how undemanding this interview was.

_That was unfortunately is not the case_, Itachi thought somberly, glancing quickly at Naruto's hands. He then said, "And what happened?"

"I got'o Ichiragu, but i' was…c'ose. So I knocked on doo' a few…mm…times, but no one ansher't. So I wen'to back of sh'ore." He gave a pause and nodded in question, asking them if they understood. He looked at Suigetsu pointedly.

Suigetsu spoke up. "He said, 'I got to Ichiraku, but it was closed. Ah, so I knocked on the door a few times but no one answered. So I went to the back of the store." He then nodded at Naruto to continue.

Naruto proceeded to tell the rest of the account, explaining how Mizuki was talking to someone, and when he moved up further, he realized that Mizuki was talking to everyone working at the restaurant. He explained how he could understand when Mizuki said to him that he thought he wasn't going to come, that he was just late. He explained how he hadn't understood what Mizuki meant by that, but by the time he saw the other two of Mizuki's friends show up, he'd realized that Mizuki was trying to make it look as if he'd planned on helping him. He explained how, multiple times, Mizuki had asked him if he wanted to join him for some thing or another, but he'd resoundingly made it clear that he did not like or want to be associated with Mizuki.

"Last night," Itachi started, "Mizuki told one of his accomplices, and I quote, 'Yeah, this is the kid that I told you was gonna be our ticket in the end.' Do you know what he meant by that?"

Naruto shook his head, but then supplied, "An'…_you_—" he pointed at Suigetsu, "said somefin'—I dunno wha—and…but …th'gi'l wif…mm…red hair and th'guy didn' do anyfin', but e'ryone e'se was runnin'."

There was a slight pause when Itachi processed the words, then Suigetsu said something about how a girl with red hair and another guy with Mizuki didn't react, whereas everyone else started running. "So please tell us why _you _left the store. Were you running away, or…"

"To get th'bag."

"Why?"

Naruto paused. Why _did _he go after the bag…he knew it was money from the register. He know he wanted to get the money back for Chouza. But he didn't know _then_ that this wasn't an issue. All he was thinking last night was, 'I need to get this back for Chouza. Chouza needs to trust me, and trust that I'm not involved with this,' so he explained this thought to Itachi and Suigetsu.

"Why would Chouza have a reason to _distrust_ you?" Itachi asked. "Does this have to do with your suspension from work?"

Naruto nodded.

"Why were you suspended from work?"

Naruto explained to them the reason why he was suspended, but then he also explained to him what Chouji had told him, what happened with the redhead girl.

"I see…" Itachi murmured. _So this is the extent of what he knows…_

The look that Suigetsu gave him didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, and the blond gently waved his better hand at the two. After gaining their attention, he asked "Am I in…mm…t'ble…?"

"Oh, the farthest thing from it, Naruto," Itachi answered. "The farthest thing. You'er in no trouble. We simply needed your side of this issue. Suigetsu working at the restaurant for the past month was more a precautionary measure to keep you uninvolved with Mizuki. We intended to keep you uninvolved with Mizuki. Unfortunately, we were not completely successful in our endeavors…"

_Precautionary measure…?_ The question showed all over Naruto's face.

"Ah, without disclosing any privileged information, we have been following a few cases involving Mizuki in the past two years, one of which involved another person aside from you who is deaf. We had a near break in the case a few months ago. We had to insert two of our agents undercover on _his _side, both of whom would like to formerly apologize to you for any trouble that you went through because of them. You _have _run in to the both of them on multiple occasions. Through those occasions, we saw a pattern in the way Mizuki dealt with you, as it had happened with his deaf victim a year ago, so during this time, we were trying to attain someone who was familiar with sign language to be the intermediary, so to speak.

"While Suigetsu is not a field agent like I am, he's affiliated with the government. Unfortunately, until this case comes to a complete close, I can't detail you on everything. We sincerely apologize for all that you have gone through in our efforts to finally catch Mizuki in his act. Unfortunately, you happened to really be caught in a bad place from the moment you started working at the restaurant. You no longer need to concern yourself with any dangers from Mizuki."

Naruto stared at the two wide-eyed. He clasped the fingers of his better hand in his hair, and breathed in deeply, unable to comprehend how this had happened to him.

Suigetsu tapped on the bed. "'And we told your uncle that we would like to incur any of your hospital bills that your insurance didn't cover, and pay for any physical therapy needed afterwards as well."

Naruto felt close to tears. Thank god. _Thank god_. He was so worried for Jiraiya. He still had one broken and one sprained hand to deal with for the next few weeks, but at least there weren't other circumstances to exacerbate the problem.

"We suppose that this is all we needed to discuss. Thank you for your time," Itachi said. He reached for the video recorder and turned it off before turned to Naruto again. "Please, Naruto, take care of yourself. And apologize to my brother on my part. I don't think my apology was thorough enough for him. I'm sorry that we couldn't help you in time last night." Itachi looked down rather guiltily, remembering how, last night, he and his team had just arrived mere moments after Mizuki had smashed Naruto's hand with a crow bar.

The sight of Naruto laying on the ground and cradling his hand, belting out that horrible, pained scream, had torn at Itachi so much that Mizuki and his accomplices hadn't mattered. He'd bent down instantly to help him.

Sighing, Itachi shook his head before he stood up, Suigetsu following suit, and opened the door. The policeman came back in and took up the video recorder and tripod, placing them in the case.

Jiraiya came sauntering back into the room a few minutes later with a large grin on his face.

Naruto curled his eyebrows at his tutelary in curiosity.

"'My book…'" Jiraiya whispered, unable to not say the words aloud.

At that point, Naruto gently covered his eyes with his hands. He completely forgot that Jiraiya's book was supposed to be released _today_.

"'It's already sold nearly 100,000 copies, Naruto! And it's only the first few hours of its release!'" Jiraiya grinned so widely that he covered his mouth and ran his hands through his hair. "Oh my god, Naruto…My god, it worked…''

Jiraiya's books _never _sold that well, _especially _on the first day of their release. He was a rather unsuccessful author.

But as much as Naruto wanted to celebrate with Jiraiya, he didn't want to do so without… "Giba…"

Jiraiya nodded. «He had to take a couple of exams today.» He looked at his watch. «Ah, you can be released now. If we leave now, I can buy some food and make dinner.»

Naruto nodded and then pulled himself out of the bed slowly and painfully.

**-Silent Sonata-**

Jiraiya looked over at Naruto after he parked his rental car in the building parking lot. The blond was sleeping, and had done so as soon as he'd gotten in the car a little over two hours ago. In the meantime, Jiraiya had gone to the pharmacy and had gotten Naruto's medication (which took more time than he'd expected), and went to the grocery to buy some food and Naruto's cleaning supplies, since Kiba called him and told him they needed some groceries.

Heaving a huge sigh, Jiraiya reached his hand forward and softly put his hand through Naruto's hair to wake him up. The blond opened his eyes blearily, unable to get his bearings, and looked over at Jiraiya. He gave his guardian a weak smile before looking out the window, recognizing where he was. He made to open the door and couldn't suppress the pained sound he made.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue, opened his door, and pulled out the groceries from the back and then walked around, opened the door for Naruto, and stepped back as the blond quickly stepped out and headed for the building. As soon as the two of them reached the apartment, Naruto came face to face with Kiba, who smiled at the older man, quietly took the bags from Jiraiya, and placed them in the kitchen. Jiraiya followed him into the kitchen and the two turned their backs to the blond and began making a _display _of putting food away.

They were actually having a private conversation with each other.

Naruto thinned his eyes at suspicion at the two of them and then grinned when something butted at his leg. He bent down in front of Akamaru and pet the fox, and it yipped loudly at him. God, he missed this little guy. He stood straight and headed to his bedroom to change his clothes, Akamaru following him closely. He sat on the chair of Kiba's desk and the fox came up to him. Sticking out his foot, he curled his toes playfully into the fox's fur and rubbed his feet against it. The fox got perturbed at the action and gave a yip before pulling away and heading to the closet, stepping around its bed before curling up.

Taking off his clothes was a terribly painful process and he found that he had to stop many times just to breathe. This was much worse than when he'd been hit by that car a few months ago.

He paused for a while and sat on his haunches, nude save for his underwear. Did last night really happen? Had he very nearly lost his life…? Oh god.

He looked at his hands and was quickly overcome with tremors, as if only now realizing how badly things could have turned out yesterday if Itachi and the other officers hadn't arrived in time. What Mizuki would have done. He could have been beaten within an inch of his life and left in the alley to die a painful, slow death. Oh god, he could have been lying in a morgue right now. Jiraiya would be identifying his body right now. And Kiba—god, Sasuke…

He became light headed suddenly, and his stomach gave a violent, involuntary lurch. Standing quickly, vision swimming, he headed for the bathroom as quickly as he could, fell to his knees in front of the toilet bowl, and vomited violently, tears collecting in his eyes from the pain and the overwhelming self-imposed grief swimming within him.

On top of what could have been, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about what now was, about how he wouldn't be able to perform in the ensemble tomorrow, how much harder it was going to be for him to communicate for the next few weeks, how frustrated he would be because no one would understand him, people would laugh at him, and the list was endless from there.

All the thoughts, the horrors, in his head kept coalescing until he couldn't think anymore and all he could see was the white bowl in front of him and the vomit filling it. He shivered convulsively when a hand began circling over his back, stomach heaving again, but he didn't vomit. He merely sat up and let out a whimper and brushed the back of his better hand over his eyes, shaking his head.

A cup of water was handed to him, which he accepted gratefully, grasping the cup awkwardly. He looked over, expecting to see Jiraiya kneeling there next to him, but found it was Kiba instead. He looked away from him guiltily, rubbing his thumb on the tip of his finger.

Last week, when he and Kiba had that argument, the brunet made it clear to Naruto that he wasn't upset about him talking. He made it clear to Naruto that the blonde's relationship with Sasuke wasn't what upset him. What had upset him was the fact that he'd hidden all of these things from him. And even though Kiba's anger had cooled tremendously, Naruto was aware that the brunet was still largely upset that he'd been left in the dark about things. The brunet had done everything in his power to avoid Naruto.

Naruto looked over at Kiba again when the brunet nudged him with his elbow. Then Kiba said, «I'm still pissed off at you for what happened a while ago.» Did Kiba have to do this right now? He stilled when the brunet grinned. «But you didn't have to end up in a hospital to get sympathy out of me, dude.»

Naruto took the tease lightly, shaking his head with a slight grin.

«And I already know that you're, uh, sorry or whatever. And I know that I could get over what happened, and that _now _probably isn't the right time to talk about it. But I can't get it out of my head.» Kiba paused, staring at his friend with his head tilted. He cleared his throat and then said, "'I don't wanna risk sounding, like, emotional or anything, but…we sorta need closure on this _now_ish and you need to come to terms with some stuff. Otherwise, five days from now you're gonna have a lot of baggage.'"

Naruto looked away again before staring at his hands. He tilted his head, trying to gather his thoughts. Kiba was completely right. He wanted to stop running from the truth. He wanted everything to be laid out. The events of last night had told him that life was too unpredictable to be caught up in deceptions, whether towards someone else, or towards oneself.

He looked over at Kiba and clasped his lips together, and finally said, "I was shcared," gesturing feebly.

Kiba paused. "Scared, Naruto?" he asked, unable to quell the slight anger he felt, the shiver, the offence in his voice. "'What could you _possibly _be scared of? This is me, Naruto. We've been through the deepest of the worst together. I mean, _seriously_, Naruto? We've been through absolute _shit_ together—worse than whatever you've gone through in these past few months.'"

"Giba—"

"'Dude…who had your back for all of these years when you went through all of that stuff—when your parents died, when you went deaf, when you couldn't _walk, _when you learned sign, and when you stopped talking? Who, Naruto?'"

Naruto was silent.

"'Do you get it, Naruto? I had your back. For something so integral, why would you leave me out like that? What could've been going through your head? Did you think I'd judge you? Did you think I'd reject you like those bastards back at home?'" He paused and then suddenly said, "'Do you know why I really don't wanna be a vet? Why I wanna be an engineer instead?'"

Naruto curled his eyebrows at his friend, not expecting the last questions. Sure he'd supported Kiba when his friend told him that he didn't want to be a veterinarian despite his smarts, when he rejected going to a well known university, and even when he decided that he wanted to do engineering instead. Yet, he'd never really thought about it. He shook his head at his friend.

Kiba smiled sardonically, amazed at Naruto's absolute ignorance. "'You know, I said to myself before high school ended, Sure it's great to help animals and stuff. But knowing that I can do something for humans is pretty much more satisfying than for an animal that can't even say thank you. Every time I went home after hangin' out with you, that wasn't the end of my day. I did a lot of research. I'm doing engineering because what you went through was enough to tell me that I could be working on the next technology that makes a paralyzed person walk again or making a deaf person hear fucking Mozart with something better than a cochlear implant. So please, when you tell me that you're leaving me out 'cause you're scared, you need to give me a better excuse.'"

The words left Naruto slightly numbed, and he found himself unable to form any words. "Nn…" He rubbed his hand over his face and shook his head in response, dragging out another unintelligible sound before he shrugged his shoulder at Kiba, completely at a loss as to what he could say. 'Thanks for changing your life course to help people like me,' would sound incredibly awkward and perhaps even sarcastic, but what else could he say without sounding fake?

Kiba rolled his eyes at Naruto's lack of words, figuring that he'd given Naruto enough of an ass kicking and enough to think about. Glowering at the blond, he waved his hand to catch Naruto's attention again. When Naruto was looking at him, he said, "'In summation, don't leave me out of this kind of shit, because I'm part of it, and everything I'm doing is sort of surrounded by your problems.'"

That was it…?

"Sorry…" Naruto murmured, unable to say more.

"Feh. Give me a couple more days for the anger to really fade."

"Mm…Giba…"

"What?"

"'Bout Sass'ge…you don' min'…?"

Kiba scratched at his chin, lowering his eyebrows. Oh, this was another issue he had with Naruto, by the way. Although this Sasuke-thing was slightly tangential to this issue, the raven's presence was still somewhat integral to the events encompassing the past four months. "'Dude, I'm not gonna lie. You know I'm a pretty tolerant person, but you know…I never thought something like this would hit close to home, you know…? Besides, it's _Sasuke_."

"…Mm…"

"'But you're, uh…not…erm—'"

"Hn?"

«It's just Sasuke that you like…right?» Kiba asked quietly.

Naruto tilted his head.

«Dude, as in, you're not attracted to guys in general, are you?» Kiba asked.

Naruto puckered his brows. And just like that, the conversation fell into the realms of 'awkward.' "No," he answered resolutely. He didn't ever find himself attracted to any other male. Sasuke was different.

"Really?" Kiba asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Then…how do you know that you, er, like him? Maybe it's just a really exaggerated bromance…"

Naruto shook his head quickly. Oh, no, they were definitely attracted to each other. He was sure that making out was beyond the 'bromance' field and fell somewhere in the 'non-platonic' realm.

"Ch'rus' me, I know, Giba," he finally said. However, he still didn't know how he felt about sexual relations yet. Ninety-five percent of the time, just _being _with Sasuke sufficed. But there was this small percentage that would surface, and it wanted all of Sasuke. _All._

Kiba nodded. "'Mkay, well good. Because Sasuke should be here in about…'" He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and checked the time. "'Well, he should be here in about ten minutes.'"

"Why?"

"'Er, he said that he's gonna bring back your phone. His brother had it or something. Besides, I thought I hated the bastard, but he got you to start talkin' again, so that pretty much makes up for any negative thoughts I had about him.'"

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Hey, Naruto…" Kiba started, nudging his friend.

Naruto looked over at him.

«About your hands…Sorry, man…»

Naruto looked down at his hands and gave a large sigh. There was no doubt that this was pretty much the worst thing that could happen in his life right now when things had started going so unbelievably well for him. However, he also realized that moping about it was not going to help his case at all. He couldn't let himself fall into the same, dark pit that he'd fallen into years ago. He had to fight this with a certain measure of finesse.

«I know that you were really looking forward to this tour-thing.»

Naruto nodded. He then flinched when Kiba punched his arm lightly. "'Just fight, dude,'" Kiba stated finally, standing up.

Naruto stood up as well, flushing the toilet. He looked over at Kiba, who'd opened the door.

"'Er…I'm going to leave now. So you can get dressed or whatever.'"

Naruto nodded and then stared at the closed door. He then turned awkwardly and looked at the bathtub. He looked at it another moment longer before shaking his head. The doctor wasn't kidding when he said that his cleaning regimen was going to be a bit touchy for the next couple of weeks…

Naruto walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, fully clothed, and murmured Jiraiya's name. The man turned and faced him, raising his brows when the blond eyes zeroed in on a box on the floor next to the table.

Jiraiya waved his hand and Naruto turned to him. "'I bought a few packages of Wet Ones for you so that, you know…cleaning yourself wouldn't be too big of an issue for the next week.'"

Naruto made a slightly disgusted face. Nothing beat a good shower, but if this was what he had to deal with for now, he would have to make due.

"'Oh, by the way,'" Kiba grinned after he turned around and leaned against the counter. Trying to make light of Naruto's sad predicament, he started, "'_Two _broken hands? Forget about showering—good luck even taking a shit.'"

Naruto paled slightly and cradled his stomach. Good lord, he hadn't thought about these simpler things…But at least one of his hands wasn't as bad as the other. Agh, he didn't want to eat anything that would cause him to have a bowel movement for the next week. Before getting too caught up with these thoughts, the light in the corner of the kitchen began to flash, indicating that someone was at the front door.

Kiba pushed himself away from the counter to answer the door, and Jiraiya turned back around to finish cooking some food.

Naruto, on the other hand, crept toward the salon and watched Sasuke walk into the apartment. A million or more thoughts went through Naruto's mind as soon as he saw Sasuke's slightly haggard appearance, the way in which the raven gave a slight nod to Kiba, how tiredly he sighed when he stood in front of the blond. He looked like a mess (from Naruto's standpoint, that is).

Kiba stood by the door awkwardly and then grunted something or another, making his way back into the kitchen.

"Hey," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto nodded. Tightening his lips awkwardly.

"Your phone," Sasuke said softly, staring down at Naruto.

Naruto took his phone thankfully and set it on the coffee table before standing in front of Sasuke again.

«Can we talk somewhere private?» Sasuke asked Naruto quietly. When Naruto nodded, Sasuke said aloud, "Naruto and I are going out for a little while. We'll be back later."

Jiraiya walked from the kitchen to the salon, wiping his hands with a towel. "'Keh, a rude kid you are. Didn't even say hello to the elder in the house, and now you wanna take my kid out when I'm making dinner?'" he asked, genuinely upset.

Sasuke earnestly gave the man a slightly shamed looked, bowing his head slightly. "I apologize, ah, Mr. Jiraiya. I didn't realize you were here."

Jiraiya nodded. "Hnh!" He'd actually talked to Sasuke last night at the hospital. It wasn't much of a conversation, but it consisted of introductions on either party's part, and slight 'background' checks. From what he knew, this Sasuke guy was Naruto's classmate, and a rather close one at that. He had a chance to meet Naruto's workmates as well, but last night was the first time he'd met Sasuke.

Sasuke furled his brows inward, unable to shake the uneasiness he felt in Jiraiya's presence. He found the man somewhat over empowering, as if he could whittle him down to nothing with a sharp tongue (that of which he received a foretaste of last night when Jiraiya had asked him rather accusatory questions before allowing him to see Naruto). _Okay, I apologized, _Sasuke thought. _What else does this guy want from me…?_

Naruto stared at the two of them with a look of confusion. "Mm…"

"'Supper's going be ready in about half an hour, but I can give you guys forty-five minutes,'" Jiraiya finally said. "'Be back by then.'" He then turned to Sasuke. "'Do you want to eat with us?'"

Sasuke automatically tilted his head and let out a soft hum, and Naruto thinned his eyes. "I wouldn't want to intrude," he answered hesitantly. He was slightly eager at the invitation, seeing as the last home-cooked meal he had was at Sakura's house—and that was a couple of years ago. But who was counting?

"'It's no imposition, ah, Sasuke was it?'"

"Yes. Sasuke," the raven answered.

"Mm, no imposition. You wouldn't be the _only_ guest," Jiraiya said.

"Who else?" Naruto asked quickly, hoping it wouldn't be another weird dinner with Jiraiya's agent. That happened two years ago and it left him entirely uncomfortable. Besides, seeing as this was his apartment, he really appreciated knowing who would be coming here.

"'No one,'" Jiraiya answered quickly, slapping himself mentally. He could already hear his 'guest' saying to him in his monotone voice, "_Jiraiya, I was unaware that there was another meaning to the words 'I'd like to come over for this. **Don't** tell Naruto._' "

"'I mean, I'm here, right?'" the older man said, trying to cover his tracks.

Naruto looked at him suspiciously. "Can we go now…?" he asked.

Jiraiya tightened his lips and nodded, "Forty-five minutes."

Naruto nodded and gave Sasuke a look that told the raven that he wanted to leave _now_.

"Thank you for the invitation, then," Sasuke said before turning to the door.

When the two walked out, Jiraiya let out a strange sound and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kiba."

"Yes?" the brunet answered from the kitchen, metal utensil clinking against the pot over the stove.

Jiraiya paused for a moment, trying to find a delicate way to say his next thought. "What's the dynamic between those two?"

There was a long, odd silence that ensued.

Jiraiya shook his head and dropped his shoulders. "Oh lord. This, too, was not in the parenting handbook," he murmured to himself.

**-Silent Sonata-**

When they reached the sidewalk of the building, Sasuke turned to Naruto. "I drove here," he said, to which Naruto gave him a questioning look. "We need to talk. If you want, we can talk in the car."

"Oh. Mm. Yeah," the blond answered.

Sasuke turned to the street again and crossed, Naruto walking behind him. He stopped in front of a rather sleek, yet humble black vehicle, and Naruto threw him a questioning look. "It's my brother's," he said.

"Ohh…" Naruto opened the door carefully and sat inside, shutting the door behind him. Speaking of which… "Who car we'you d'iffin th'other week?" he asked, turning to face Sasuke.

"'It was a rental. I had help Iruka with some things and I needed a car for it,'" he answered.

"Oh," Naruto answered. This wasn't what Sasuke wanted to talk about, he knew. "Mm…"

"'I talked to Iruka today. He said that he will cover for you and play all of the parts of piano this weekend.'"

Naruto clenched his jaws and let out a long breath, rubbing his eyes with his unbound fingers if only to quell a small amount of stress. He was trying his best not to be distressed over this issue, but it was damned difficult.

Sasuke's eyes wandered around the interior of the car for a moment, as if he was searching for something specific. The dark grey orbs finally settled on Naruto. "'Last night…my brother called me and told me that something had happened to you.'"

Naruto blinked at him. "Mm…" he said softly.

This was not easy…

"'First thought that came to mind? That you were dead or something…'" The raven paused and tightened his lips. _This is not easy at all. _His finger went to the base of his skull, and he began twirling it around a tress of his dark hair.

Naruto fidgeted in his seat. He was accustomed to Sasuke's silence. He was accustomed to Sasuke's ability to mask his emotions. However, when he saw the raven's pale features morph from an ashen white to a slight pink, he felt lost. He didn't know what to do.

"Sass'ge…"

"Naruto," Sasuke started as his voice shook. He cleared his throat. "'I…_hesitate_…with you because you're more, ah…'" He was having so much difficulty getting this out. Much more than he'd anticipated. He shook his head slightly. "'Naruto, there really isn't a way for me to say this any more eloquently, but no matter what I say or how I act, you don't need to be under the impression that I don't like you or that I find you disgusting in some way because you can't hear.'"

Naruto tilted his head. This had to do with the other week when they'd been in the practice room.

Sasuke let out an ironic chuckle. "'Naruto, you're…possibly the best thing that's happened to my life, do you understand that?'"

The blond stiffened, uncomforted by the words. He didn't know if they were the quiet before the tornado sucked him up. He didn't know if these were Sasuke's words before a departure. If they were, he was not prepared.

"'Last night, as I was going to the hospital, I though that I'd lost the one thing in my life that made me…'" Another pause, and then the timbre in his voice shifted, and he wriggled in his seat slightly. "'Do you know how unbelievably unreligious I am?'" he asked. "No," he turned away for a moment and looked down. "Okay, not right," he said to himself. He thought that he'd gotten these thoughts straight on his way to Naruto's place. Why were they not coming out right? Looking back at Naruto, he finally said, "'Do you know how astrophysicists and other scientists are trying to figure a way for humans to live on other planets? Like how right now we're trying to find the _perfect _planet?'"

Naruto thinned his eyes at Sasuke in confusion. "I dun' undershtan', Sass'ge…"

"_But do you know about it_?" Sasuke asked him impatiently.

"Yeah," Naruto answered slowly.

"'And you know how some people are fired up about it because humans have done enough to pollute our own planet, so it's vexing to think that we might go on some other planet and start screwing things up for it too?'"

Naruto gave Sasuke a single, unsure nod. He knew about this, yes. But he didn't understand where Sasuke was going with this.

"'People are conflicted with this idea because the one large factor that people put into the equation is that history says that we always _fuck things up _when we find something pure and clean and untouched.'"

Oh. _Oh._ Naruto could somewhat understand.

"Fuck, Naruto, you're forcing me to say something difficult," Sasuke murmured to himself. "'Naruto, you're _perfect _and I don't want to ruin you, but I want you so fucking badly.'"

There. He said it. It was out.

Naruto had to shut his eyes and give his head a small shake to process the words. He shook his head again in grave confusion.

Why was everyone weighing him down with so many things today? It was overwhelming, and he just wanted to run _right now _from it. Yet, he could understand completely what Sasuke was trying to say, because in a way, he felt the same way towards Sasuke. Only, he was hesitant to engage in a relationship with Sasuke because he was always worrying about what people were thinking of him.

He could barely look at Sasuke right now. Why was Sasuke trying to say this to him? Why was Sasuke trying to apologize to him? Sasuke was merely confounding to him, but in the end, he was the one who was hurting Sasuke.

He glanced at Sasuke and watched the raven's hands move.

«I know that you're trying to push me away because you're always looking over your shoulder. I get it—you're don't want people to judge you more than they already have. Just forget about them, Naruto. At the same time, I'm _afraid__—_"

_What…?_

"—of screwing things up with you, and then you leave and I wouldn't know what to do at that point because—"

"Sass'ge," Naruto interjected. Sasuke paused and tightened his lips, giving the blond a short indeterminable look that bordered on desperation, before steeling his emotions in that well-trained mask. "You like me?" he asked.

"Yes," Sasuke answered without hesitation. Somewhere in the corner of his mind, he thought to himself that Naruto's pronunciation had gotten a little better.

"Mkay," Naruto said. "I like you. And 'm sorry that I tol' Kiba any diff'ren'. I was shcared and I couldn't face t'truf."

"Which is?" Sasuke asked.

"'m more worried'bout wha'peop'e fink'bout me th'n'm willin' t'admit," Naruto finally confessed. "I'd…been under d'imp'ession…'m really sht'ong. But'm not. 'm weak an' petty an' I lie so'that I dun' get hu't. An…'cause'f that…I fight and deny a lo'of'fings. 'M shca'd to p'ay piano. 'M shca'd peop'e will laugh't me 'f I mess up. 'M shca'd y'dun really like me 'n that when a p'blem comes up, you won'…"

Sasuke furled his brows. «I won't what?» he asked.

Naruto pursed his lips. He didn't want to say it. He hadn't ever wanted to come to this point, to say things like this. Saying this aloud was admitting to himself that he was dependent emotionally on Sasuke, that his current and future survival was contingent on Sasuke's presence. Saying this would mean that he wasn't independent or self-sufficient. This was denying himself the control he thought he had regained over his own life and giving someone else—Sasuke—partial control. But he had to say it because he was willing to realize that this was a major change in his life. He had to come to terms with the fact that not everything could be controlled. He and Sasuke needed to clear the air. "You won' be there," Naruto finished. "You'leafe."

And if Sasuke left, if he departed, the hold he had over Naruto would leave a crumbled, barely operative phantom in its wake. _That_ was what he was afraid of.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "'Are you telling me that our problem is stemming from both of us having insecurities?'"

Naruto tilted his head and shut his eyes for a moment, eyebrows curling inward and lips tightening. "Hm," he let out. "…I fink so…" He hadn't looked at things like that.

«Well I'm obviously too persistent to leave.»

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long moment before letting out a strange, breathy chuckle. It was true. Sasuke was probably the most persistent person he knew, aside from Kiba. Sasuke was the reason he was even talking right now.

Sasuke stared at Naruto hands for a moment before clenching his jaws, eyes slimming to dangerous slits. He shook his head, biting angrily on his bottom lip. «I want to murder the guy that did that to you, Naruto. I want him dead.»

Naruto looked down at his hands and canted his head. His fingers curled as much as they could before he gave a wince. "Sass'ge…" He shut one eye and tapped it, finding the sensation somewhat comforting. "Mm. 'm t'yin no't'get…upshet'bout this. I's makin' me numb right now."

The raven nodded.

"Can I…mm…" Naruto nodded. He recalled this feeling before. He wanted to do something so strongly, but he didn't know how to convey it. "'m a bit…confli'ted," he said slowly, unable to face Sasuke.

"I wanna do some fin…t'you…"

Sasuke blinked at the Naruto and couldn't help but grin at him. This was history repeating itself. Naruto was by far the strangest person he'd ever met—completely the most socially awkward person to walk the earth.

Naruto pouted childishly, curling his eyebrows and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He shook his head rapidly.

«Naruto,» Sasuke started. The blond, seeing the motion from the corner of his eyes, looked at him. He gave the blond a blank look. «Do you want me to hit you?» he asked Naruto, face completely void of any emotion.

"Heh?" Naruto asked aloud, face contorting to a comical mix of dismay and bewilderment. He pinned his back against the door when Sasuke moved toward him, his expression melting into a glare.

"Prepare yourself, Uzumaki Naruto," Sasuke said seriously, leaning forward. He couldn't help but think to himself that he and Naruto's relationship was rather dysfunctional.

Naruto seemed to finally remember this happening a while ago—except that the roles were reversed—when Sasuke firmly kissed him. Oh yes, he remembered this. He certainly remembered this. He had to return the favour.

**.o.**

Closing the door behind him, Naruto turned to look at the car he and Sasuke were just in. All of the windows were foggy. While the had spent some time talking, the rest of the time had been spent with them locking lips. He made a face at Sasuke and the raven shrugged his shoulder as they headed toward the apartment. When they reached the apartment he turned the knob with a bit of difficulty and stepped inside.

Sasuke breathed in the smell of the food deeply and slightly bit at his lip in hunger and then looked down suddenly when that damned fox trotted in front of him and stood at his feet, giving a small keen. He glared at the animal and it immediately quailed, turning away from him and skipping away.

A moment later, he heard Kiba bite out a, "Bah, Akamaru, I was about to beat him! Why did you do that?"

And then strangely, the raven heard, a low, monotoned, slightly lisped, "No you weren't, Kiba. You were loosing. That fox only helped."

Sasuke turned to put his shoes to the side, and realized that Naruto had been standing there like a rock.

Naruto continued to stare at the shoes set neatly in the corner. One pair was Kiba's. One pair was Jiraiya's. Who the hell was the owner of this other pair?

Naruto glared at the other pair of shoes before finally taking his off. Jiraiya lied—someone else _was _here.

He turned the small corner and stopped short before letting out a garbled sound.

Sasuke stood straight and curled his eyebrows before following Naruto. Who was this? A guy perhaps Naruto's age, with light brown hair, was sitting at the table, and he and Kiba were obviously engaged in a two-player game on a smart-phone.

"Gaara…?" Naruto said aloud.

Said person turned to Naruto and let go of the phone. He then turned to Sasuke and said, "Are you Sasuke?" in a slight mumble.

Sasuke blinked at him—this Gaara person—and answered, "Yes."

Kiba coughed into his hand, and in just that moment, Jiraiya came out of the bathroom. He walked into the room, and he said, "'Oh, _finally_. Okay, we can have supper now.'"

Naruto held out his hands and pulled up his shoulders. He wanted to ask _what the hell_ was going on, but Jiraiya pointed to a chair. "'We'll talk about it over dinner. Sit. Both of you.'"

Sasuke blinked at the older gentleman and obediently sat at the chair.

Granted, the blond was glad to see Gaara. He really was, but the circumstances were rather…_abnormal_.

When the two were sitting, Jiraiya sat down and leaned back, covering his mouth for a moment. "'Okay,'" he started, turning to the confused blond. "'Naruto, it's confession time.'"

The blond gawked at his guardian in utter confusion.

"'My book had dual purposes.'"

Naruto had figured this out already. He wasn't stupid.

"'So…what would you do if I told you that you can hear again, Naruto?'"

Naruto leaned forward and blinked his eyes at Jiraiya, and Kiba whipped his head at the older man in shock.

Sasuke froze at the words and the only thing that kept him from sinking in his seat was his dignity. He threw a suspicious look over to Gaara.

"Okay." Kiba finally interjected. "_What_?"

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**Comment: **So, this chapter was very difficult to write. Thank you for reading it. Thank you for your patience.


	26. Part III: Silentium Obscurum

**Comment**: I don't know how. I don't. Somewhere after the fourth page, this chapter just took off on its own.

**Warning: **Very deep issues in this chapter. Some things may be offensive, but please see it as objective and not subjective.

**Secondary Comment: **

I made a playlist of the songs that the ensemble will perform. Put in the normal youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=oHTUB8fDZ4o&list=PLhOopT1DBIppKhHJ3WgZEEt_Uj8LdQr9t&index=1

The list of performances will be provided at the end of the chapter.

—

—

* * *

**.**

**.o.**

**Shizuka no Sonata**

**Silentium Obscurum**

**.o.**

**.**

Naruto's guardian pointed his eyes at him, and he found that he could do nothing more than stare at Jiraiya in a stupor. The words were lapping in his brain in circles, and the prospect of being able to hear again clouded any other thoughts, rational or irrational.

_Hearing again_. His mind became fuzzy, and for a moment he couldn't think. Breath bated in his chest, he closed his eyes and was thrown back in time to hear is parents speaking to him, his father playing music, the sound of the piano, a whisper in his ear telling him of love stronger than what a snowflake felt for the earth. His mother, oh, his mother singing in his ear as she encircled her arms around him tight, tighter, and his father teaching him, telling him the wonderful things about the genius Bach, who combined mathematics and sound into a fluid art.

Subtle sounds, _intense _sounds…

He'd been in darkness for nearly five years…

Kiba lowered his brows and kept his eyes rapt on Jiraiya. He nearly felt a physical blow to his being when Jiraiya asked that question. As thoughts began to flow at an unprecedented and erratic rate, he pressed his fingers to his eyes in an attempt to process the words that he'd just heard.

Sasuke, on the other hand, glanced suspiciously at Gaara and wondered why he was particularly present for this situation. From what he could understand, Naruto hadn't seen him for years, and Jiraiya was seemingly plotting to use him in to navigate to maneuver and influence Naruto. However, for what purpose and to what end, he could not anticipate.

The table was quiet for a while, but then Gaara spoke up, his voice a soft, calm, and a deep whirr. He also lifted his hands as he spoke, and said, "'Naruto, he asked you a question. Surely you can answer it. Do you want to hear or not?'"

Naruto tilted his head almost viciously at Gaara, and the look on his face couldn't merit words. 'How are you involved in this?' his expression asked. Just a small twitch here, and a glower there, Sasuke noted, and Naruto could convey so much with so little. Nonetheless, Naruto used his voice to ask, "How d'you posshib'y bomba'd me wiff dat kin'of quesh'ion and e'spec' a simp'e anshwer?" he asked, his voice an octave lower than usual, his tone softer, his words more properly enunciated, slow, and firm.

Even Sasuke could tell that Naruto was somewhat angry, though only a barely detectible, high-pitched voice in the back of his head could determine why. He articulated his words more the slower he talked, and like liquid crystals that changed color when responding to slight changes in temperature, Naruto's mood could easily alter the clarity of his speech. After all, this Jiraiya, this guardian of his, was offering him something that had been ripped away from him.

Jiraiya took a bite of his food and then sat straight, placing his elbows on the table.

Naruto then turned to Gaara and said, "Di'Jiraiya put y'up t'dis?"

"'I'm a free-thinking person, Naruto," Gaara responded smartly. "'I was not 'put up' to anything. Jiraiya contacted me about this a while ago, and I was more than willing to explain things to him him.'" He pointed to his cochlear implant.

"'Naruto,'" Jiraiya interjected, feeling some tension rising. "'My original intention was never to sell Shizuka na Sonata. In fact, I never intended for those entries to be compiled into a book. It was my form of coping with what happened to you—'"

_It was my form of coping… _were the only words Naruto heard, and he was instantly wrapping his mind around them, unable to pay attention to whatever else Jiraiya had to say. Why had he never thought about how Jiraiya _coped _with such a large change in his life…? He, for a reason or another, never considered how deeply this effected the man. Had he ever gone to some type of counseling…?

He could see his younger self wheeling past his guardian's office many times, stopping and seeing the man leaning over his desk, shoulders shaking. It meant nothing to him then, but it said more than necessary now.

He could see his younger self throwing tantrums. He was so blindingly angry then, devastated, lost, confused, pained. He had no other way to convey these emotions than by acting out. But what about Jiraiya?

He'd remembered a particular tantrum vividly, and he shook as he was pulled into the memory. He'd been trying to reach for something in the kitchen cupboard (he couldn't even remember now what it was) and he'd leaned to his right too far, and he and his wheelchair went crashing to the floor. In his frustration, he began screaming and flailing his arms, his legs sprawled at what would have been a painful angle if he could feel it. Why is this happening to me, he'd thought. Why god, why; just let me die; I don't want to live. It'd driven him absolutely made. He'd screeched and caterwauled like a rabid, angry thing, and in retrospect he even suspected that spittle was flying out his mouth from the uncontrollable rage and pain. And even when Jiraiya came rushing into the kitchen, bending to calm him, pick him up, he went out of his way to make the task difficult for the man, twisting his body, going limp, grabbing onto drawer handles to pull away, scratching, striking his hands—

Oh god, he'd hit and scratched at Jiraiya. Oh, he was such a terrible, irate child. Was he really that selfish? Could he really have been so self-absorbed that he never took care to consider Jiraiya's mental, physical, emotional health?

He came back to the current situation with a particularly painful kick to his shin. Blinking his burning eyes rapidly, he looked over at Sasuke, and then turned his direction back to Jiraiya when the raven gave him a scathing look.

Jiraiya sighed. "'It would really help me if you would listen to me, Naruto…'" the man said exasperatedly. He'd stopped talking a while ago, actually. The whole table had gone quiet as Naruto stared affixed at the tabletop with a lost expression; they watched as his eyes dilated and glazed and knew that he was torturing himself with a memory.

Clearing his throat, Jiraiya continued. "'I said that I felt that with the proceeds from this book, we would be able to finish paying all of those bills—hospital, rehab.'"

"Bu'…bu' my paren's lif'insurance…" Naruto murmured questioningly.

"'I told you, Naruto, that you need that money to start your _new _life. I won't be around forever, Naruto. I _won't_.'" He looked pointedly at his ward, able to say those words with confidence. He didn't want to linger on this, however, so he continued. "'You have a life ahead of you, so let me worry about what's behind you, burdening you,'" Jiraiya slowly. He then continued. "'You remember where the two of you attended JSL?'" he then asked, looking at Naruto and then Gaara.

Naruto puckered his eyebrows and nodded. Of course he did, but why bring this up?

"'Remember the incident that you read about last year, where one of the students, whose parents own a large corporate company, committed suicide?'" the man continued.

Even Sasuke _did _remember reading about that.

"'That girl's parents have done everything in their power to sabotage that school and blame them for the girl's death. Because of this, a few endorsers have pulled out so as to not have critical eyes on them for being connected to such a case. The school is losing funds and is floundering, Naruto,'" the older man continued.

Naruto felt involuntary tears pool at the corners of his eyes. That place had a large role in saving him, and now it was under siege? He hadn't realized it. He couldn't think of anything to say, and merely shook his head in disbelief.

"'I'm only gonna be pocketing about ten percent of the revenue from this book. Fifty percent will go to all JSL schools in the country, and twenty-five will go to research, technology, and foundations. The last bit, Naruto, is for you. Fifteen percent.'"

Naruto canted his head. "Me?" he asked, pointing to himself. "…Why?"

"'The hospital bills, the surgeries and rehabilitation that you went through…all of those things are going to be paid off completely,'" Jiraiya answered. He then said tentatively, "'And it still stands for you to be able to hear. I want to set some of that money aside for you to have surgery.'"

Naruto sat back in his chair and looked down, covering his mouth. He glanced over at Gaara, who's slightly shaggy hair barely concealed the cochlear implant. It was quite visible. When had Gaara gotten the surgery for it?

Admittedly, Naruto did some research two or so years ago about cochlear implants, but what he knew of it wasn't thorough. He was also sure that technology had changed since then. He knew some of the pros and cons of the device, though. Of course, when he'd first gone deaf from the trauma and began loosing almost all of his residual hearing in his 'good' ear over the course of the next two and a half years, he wanted to hear again. He wanted to hear more than anything.

Despite just thinking to himself merely weeks ago how much he wanted to hear the sounds of music and laughter and those subtle sounds of water trickling, or someone breathing, this prospect was so sudden, and it terrified him. The audio darkness was not welcomed, but he'd become comfortable with it.

Deafness had become a companion to him.

He didn't know if he'd be ready to take such another large step in his life right now, when so many things were starting to change for him.

Jiraiya waved his hand at Naruto. He could tell that Naruto was mulling over this so deeply right now, and he didn't want to make his ward feel burdened. When the blond finally looked over at him, he reasoned, "'Naruto, don't think about this too deeply right now. You're not in the right frame of mind with all the things that have occurred in the past day. I've just dropped a pretty big bomb on you. But I want to make sure that you and Gaara communicate about this. He's had the surgery done for a while now. I know that he's someone you trust and respect, especially because he knows more about this than Kiba or I will ever know.'"

Naruto pursed his lips and looked over at Gaara, who nodded once in agreement with Jiraiya.

"'After we eat, I expect that the two of you should talk to each other privately about this,'" Jiraiya said. "'For now, let's just enjoy the company and eat.'"

Kiba murmured unintelligibly and poked at his food a little before plopping some of it into his mouth. He certainly hadn't foreseen this. He was awed by Jiraiya's shrewdness in how he organized all of this, but he could hardly think that now was the appropriate time to bring up this subject. In the first place, Naruto had just gone through a very jarring trauma; one that could very well dictate his decision on getting the implant or not.

For another thing, Sasuke, who was currently sitting at the table and all but looking like crow amongst doves, didn't know Naruto as intimately as the other three people in this room. For a matter as important as this to brought up in front him, Kiba slightly called to question Jiraiya's judgment. It seemed like he was rushing something, like he was on some sort of timetable and couldn't stop the momentum because that would interrupt some invisible deadline.

But for Naruto to be able to hear again…

He didn't know how he felt about it, honestly. The fact that Naruto couldn't hear was not an issue for him. Yes, the way in which he lost his hearing was in itself terrible. But what was worse, in Kiba's opinion, was when Naruto stopped talking. Now, Naruto was working himself up to regaining the confidence to speak.

So in truth, Kiba didn't care whether Naruto was deaf or not. It didn't wear down on any ties that he had with his close friend; in fact it strengthened their bond and love for each other. In the end, whatever Naruto wanted, Kiba would support. Besides, as much as Kiba became annoyed with his parents, he was sure that he'd rather do with than _without_ their presence. Naruto was missing that presence for five years now. He was sure that what Naruto wanted _most_ was that ability to see them; hearing was second-place.

His thoughts derailed for a moment and his eyes suddenly fell on Gaara, who was staring at Naruto with such an intensity that he though the blond flesh would disintegrate.

Jiraiya sure did go out of his way to make sure that Naruto would—.

"I'm Subakuno Gaara," the lighter haired one said, turning to Sasuke. And then quite abruptly, he asked, "Who are you to Naruto?"

Kiba held his breath.

"Mm," Sasuke answered, furrowing his brows in slight amazement and barely contained horror. "We, ah—" he paused and his eyes flashed toward Naruto, not necessarily seeking permission, but letting him know that _We are going to start getting this right, now. No pretenses. Just truth. _So he was preparing Naruto.

"We go't' shool togefer," Naruto answered suddenly, pulling his eyes away from Sasuke, turning his head, and finally landing his gaze on his estranged friend. "My shenior." He added.

For an inglorious moment, Sasuke (and Kiba) thought, _No, Naruto, no. Are you still running, lying? Do you still deny it? _And then Sasuke nearly said aloud, 'He's your friend, damn it! He won't care, Naruto, he won't care. Tell him.'

But then Naruto unhinged his jaws to continue, "An'he—"

While at the same time, Gaara, who was no moron, who was partially deaf, but certainly not blind, said, "'But that's not all.'"

Naruto shook his head to agree and continued. "No. No i'sh no'. Shomehow," he said weightily, and looked over again at Sasuke, hand resting atop the table. He looked empty and yet consumed with terror at the same time to Sasuke. But then he did something wholly unexpected. The left corner of his lips quirked upward and he reached forward and connected his index and middle finger to Sasuke, giving the slightly rolled up sleeve a little tug, reassuring him. "Shomehow," he started again, connecting his blue orbs to dark gray, "He filled a foid, shafed me, n' I nee'him."

_He filled a void, saved me, and I need him._

Sasuke thought he might be sick all over the table, and for once was too frozen to say anything, because he certainly hadn't expected that type of weighty admission. _I saved you? _He thought. No, rubbish. Naruto saved him. He never wielded the power to save anyone. That was...impossible. He became awash with a paradox of pain and what he could only call glory, the feeling swimming right behind his sternum, making the bone jump forward, backward, that he didn't realize that, for once, he flushed deeply in front of these people, but sudden tunnel vision told him that all that existed in this room was Naruto.

How could it be possible to be so engulfed with someone? Sasuke shivered, cold and lost and yet hot and claustrophobic, and his skin was covered in goosebumps, every little follicle on his body standing on end, and his eyes became heavy like a man intoxicated. So this was happiness, was it? He didn't know what else to call it, but so simple and bland and childish a word could not have meant so much in all his life.

"Mm," Jiraiya murmured. "Mm," he said again because, really, he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I see," Gaara finally said, eyes boring into Sasuke. And then, unexpectedly, "Thank you, Sasuke."

The people that surrounded Naruto were beautiful.

To Kiba's horror, his stomach had the audacity interrupt with a rumble.

Gaara turned to him subtly and said. "'Maybe we should finish eating before the food turns cold.'" Without waiting for anyone's permission, he picked up his chopsticks and pinched some food between them, bringing it to his lips.

Everyone at the table conceded silently.

**.o.**

Sasuke didn't want to leave; he felt it would be a betrayal to Naruto. However, in light of what occurred the previous day, Iruka had to make changes to the program, and Sasuke would need modify his playing in order to help the professor. He _was _expecting a call from Iruka so that they could work out those changes, and he received it while eating (at which point he excused himself politely from the table and went to the bathroom to speak to him).

When Sasuke returned, he announced, "'I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have very important matters to attend to at the moment.'"

Naruto looked up at him. He made a simple motion—«Iruka?»—to which Sasuke nodded.

Jiraiya then asked, "Would you like take your food with you?" He stood. "I'll give you some more to take home with you, in fact."

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Sasuke answered. The food was delicious. That splendid taste of home was a specific spice difficult to emulate, rare to find. He then looked down at Naruto again. No words were necessary. The blond stood up to walk him to the door. "It was nice meeting you, Gaara," he said sincerely.

"Likewise," the light-haired brunette responded, dipping his tilted head elegantly, subtly.

Jiraiya returned quickly and handed Sasuke a nicely wrapped, two-tiered bento box. He clapped his hand lightly on Sasuke's shoulder, and said, "Thank you, Uchiha Sasuke." Simple words, but so faceted, rich in colour.

Sasuke merely gave a slight tilt of his chin to the older man. He then turned to Kiba and simply said his name as a way to say goodbye, and then he turned about to get to the front door, where Naruto was waiting for him. He slipped on his shoes and Naruto walked out in front of him, and he closed the door behind himself. The two walked toward the stairs.

"Tang'you," Naruto said. "F'stayin," he elaborated.

Sasuke shook his head; no imposition. They descended the flights quietly. He pulled out his keys when they reached the lobby. He then turned to Naruto. "Will you still come tomorrow?" he asked.

Naruto averted his gaze. Going to the tour would be torture. But he would. He nodded. "Ish I'uga gonna p'ay f'me?" he asked, words slurring again into each other seamlessly. The less he cared, the more lax his tongue. Sasuke really marveled at this. He marveled even more at the fact that ever since Naruto started speaking, he grasped onto every fluctuation, every nuance, every word that came out of Naruto like it was gospel.

"Yes," Sasuke answered before opening the door. His phone gave a ping to alert him of a new text message. He pulled it out of his pocket with a little difficulty, hands already occupied. Unrecognized number. But the message said:

_I'd like to meet with you._  
_Privately. Sooner rather than _  
_later would be preferable. I'm _  
_sure you know who this is. Do _  
_let me know when you're _  
_available. I don't sleep well, _  
_so an indiscreet hour isn't an __  
imposition._

He elected not respond immediately to the text and slipped his phone back into his pocket. They crossed the busy street to get to his car. He turned to Naruto as they reached the edge of the sidewalk, suspecting that the blond had something to say to him. He could see it in his body language.

"Sass'ge."

(More. More. He wanted to hear his name more from those lips. Why were Naruto's _S_s clear when he said his name, but other times they would come out as a lisp? Did he really place that much importance on his name? Did he concentrate _that hard _every time he said Sasuke's name? It was glorious, painfully glorious. Every time he heard his name coming from Naruto, he felt like someone was gutting him with a meat hook. Why was Naruto so perfectly imperfect?)

"Sass'ge? Y'not lishn'n… " Naruto said impatiently, eyebrows furrowing and lip quirking to the side in a strange pout.

«Sorry,» Sasuke signed, grinning slightly.

"Hrm," the blond groused. But then he said to Sasuke, "Te...uh...Le' I'uga know 'm shorry."

Sasuke let a puff of hair come out of his nose. "'Iruka already knows you're sorry, Naruto,'" he said. "'And either way, you have nothing to apologize for. This isn't your fault.'"

Naruto shuffled slightly and then nodded, lowering his reddening eyes.

_I've never seen someone with more tender and sensitive a heart. _And the quality certainly didn't emasculate Naruto.

Sasuke unlocked his car and gracefully bent at the hips to put the bento box on the passenger seat. Naruto kept his eyes rapt on his raven-haired companion, stomach clenching at how fluidly he could move. He stood straight and looked down at Naruto. He placed the heal of his hand on Naruto's shoulder and his thumb brushed against a small bruise on the blond's cheek.

"Mm."

He curled the same hand to the back of Naruto's neck and pulled the blond toward him, chin perching atop the nest of blond hair. He didn't know why. He just wanted to. Needed to.

Naruto didn't move. Finally, the fingers of his lightly wrapped hand grasped firmly on the back of Sasuke's chemise.

Sasuke was coming to accept that he was the more physically affectionate of the two. He was the first to pull away, and said to Naruto, «I really need to get going. Text me. Bye.»

Naruto stepped back and Sasuke got in his car, turning on the engine. He pulled away from the sidewalk and drove off. Naruto crossed the street and walked back into the apartment.

Gaara watched from the window.

**- Silent Sonata -**

Kiba and Jiraiya had gone out about an hour ago, just when dusk fell, to walk Akamaru together. Naruto had become rather lethargic after they had supper from a combination of medication, energy-sapping digestion, and exhaustion of varying degrees: mental, physical, emotional. He'd fallen asleep on the couch and it was nearly two hours later. At some point, Gaara, who'd stared at him as he slept, sat down on the couch, his legs pillowing Naruto's head.

Gaara was never a good sleeper himself. He was a textbook insomniac. He found when he was a child that he liked to watch people sleep, shifting slightly, breathing heavily, eyes twitching to-and-fro under their eyelids. He was entranced when people experienced ecstasy or fright, how their dreamscape was being manifested physically. He loved watching it.

He didn't like this at all, what he was seeing from Naruto, because his friend was showing pain, terror, was writhing slightly, and humming a pained tune, fingers twitching violently. He placed his hand on Naruto's forehead and brushed it toward his hairline gently, willing him to coax him from that nightmare and perhaps place him somewhere more pleasant.

Instead, Naruto awoke suddenly, the sound coming from his mouth barely registering as human, eyes contracted to tiny pin holes.

As his eyes dilated and his vision cleared, he realized that he was staring up at Gaara, that the sensation running like rivers trickling through his hair was Gaara's fingers, and all at once he remembered how much he missed his friend.

He and Gaara had been very intimate friends when they were younger, physically attached to each other because they said very little. Both he and Gaara were nearly completely deaf, but they were both learning sign language. They had no other way to communicate with each other as they weren't fluent in this new 'tongue'. Writing bored them, so they'd learned how to speak to each other with their eyes and bodies.

"Gaara..." Naruto mumbled, reaching his fingers up and butting his knuckles against the brunet's chin, and Gaara drummed his fingers pleasantly against Naruto's scalp. Naruto's fingers then laced around his jaw and touched the tip of Gaara's left ear, grazing the sound processor curling around it. Gaara turned his head slightly so Naruto had better access.

"How doesh'it feel?" he asked Gaara.

"Honestly?" Gaara started, looking straight at Naruto so the blond could read his lips. "A little invasive." His eyebrow quirked in a rare display of emotion: irritation.

Naruto sat up finally and inspected the device closely. "Wha'doesh'it shound lige...?" he asked eyes glancing over the different parts.

«Actually very clear,» Gaara answered.

"D'you reg'et it?" Naruto asked. He always respected Gaara as a person never to lie to him. He needed to know if Gaara regretted this decision.

«Very rarely,» Gaara answered. «I can turn it off whenever I want to, so it's not like I'm forced to hear everything. Sometimes I prefer to turn it off, actually. Especially when I'm studying. Or if Temari or Kankuro are annoying me. I still hear a light buzz because my right ear isn't completely deaf, but it's like inflected white noise, so it's fine.»

Naruto nodded. Something in him pinched in longing.

«Jiraiya wanted me to convince you to get a cochlear implant. He reached out to me,» Gaara said after a while. He snorted. «That man obviously doesn't know me well.» Gaara wasn't the type of person to force his opinions on others. Not anymore, at least. «I don't particularly care what he wants me to do or what he wants me to tell you because it's your choice.»

"Mm."

«But he does care for you, Naruto. More deeply than you may know, actually. Whatever you choose, he needs to be reassured that you still value him.»

Gaara was talking about Jiraiya, but Naruto could detect that the words were being spoken to the brunet's dead uncle, who had adopted Gaara and his siblings when his father had died and the age of fourteen. Unlike Naruto, Gaara still had his siblings to cling onto; Naruto had no one.

«So you and Sasuke?» Gaara asked.

Naruto nodded.

«And how did this come about?» Gaara asked.

Naruto told Gaara everything. About how much they two of them hated each other initially; about how that changed, and he realized he didn't even know _when_ that change had actually occurred. He was sure, actually that at times they still hated each other because they loved each other so much.

«Have you two had sex?» Gaara bluntly asked Naruto.

"No," Naruto answered. "You know...I'm no'...mm..."

«Yes,» Gaara answered, «I know.» Gaara knew this about Naruto. The blond desired affection, yes, loved the stimulation of touch, most certainly, but he'd expressed to Gaara when they were young teenagers that he didn't ever care to engage in any sexual activity.

_("Am I **that** broken, Gaara? I know it's not normal."_

"_Don't ever say that, Naruto. You're not broken.")_

Gaara was similar, but not completely the same, as he felt the need to relieve himself for practical purposes. However, he was not overly active in the act. Perhaps three or four times a year he would engage in sexual intercourse. He found that he slept so well afterwards for a couple of weeks, was less irritable (he was especially prone to terrible bouts of violence when he was younger, which Naruto was accustomed to) and his depressive moods were more infrequent.

«Apparently even people with your mentality will engage in sex for varying reasons. I was just curious. A lot can change in five years, as you know.»

Naruto shrugged. "Doesh'it bothe'you that he's a guy...?" Naruto asked.

«Well that depends,» Gaara answered. «These days _some_ people label themselves homosexuals because they're following a trend, not because they are actually inclined toward someone of the same sex. Are you just trending?»

"Mos' def'ni'ly not," Naruto answered.

«Then no, it doesn't bother me.» Gaara said. «And obviously, as you two aren't in a sexual relationship with each other, it's to my understanding that your connection isn't based on the carnal desires but rather on something much more profound.»

Gaara was always so psychologically knowledgeable.

«Especially because I'm sure that Sasuke is a sexually active person,» Gaara added.

Yes, it's true, Sasuke is. But how did Gaara know...?

«It's in his eyes,» Gaara said, answering Naruto's silent question. «I can see it. He wants you.»

Naruto didn't know how to feel about this.

«But he's suppressing himself. So it's obvious that you two have something else going for you.»

There was a weight that settled in Naruto's stomach.

Gaara's phone vibrated. He was receiving a text. It read:

_I'll be available at 10:30. We _  
_can meet at my place or_  
_somewhere else, but a good, _  
_private location at this time _  
_of night is sparse._

Gaara began responding, leaving Naruto to his thoughts. The blond was staring off at the couch, and Gaara wouldn't dare interrupt the soliloquy that was most likely going through that brain.

_Y__our place will __suffice__._

The next text he received from Sasuke was his address. Either way, it was already past nine. He glanced at the piano, and then at Naruto. He waved his hand in his own way, the movement barely there.

Naruto looked over at him.

«I heard that you were supposed to have an ensemble tour. With Temari and Kankurou.»

Naruto nodded. "Obfioush'y unab' to p'ay, but d'you haff time to come? We gonna go to—" these letters he spelled out with his better hand— «JSL school.»

«I'm indisposed tomorrow,» Gaara said. «With exams. Besides, if you're not playing, I'm not really interested. I'd rather wait to hear you play when your hands are healed.»

Naruto quirked his lip. His eyes had felt heavy again as they were talking. «Tired,» he said in an easy, swift movement.

«Go back to sleep, then. When or if you wake up later, I won't be here, though,» Gaara said.

«Okay.»

Naruto shuffled on the couch again and rested his head on his friend's lap, and Gaara's hand returned to his hair.

He slept better.

**- Silent Sonata -**

Gaara rapped his fingers on Sasuke's door. He looked around quietly at the cityscape surrounding him. This was a beautiful view. This was an expensive place, a place that required riches.

The door opened and Sasuke let Gaara in silently. The brunet's eyes connected to his solidly for a moment before he slid them into the hallway ahead of him. He stopped at the end of the hallway, to the entrance of what was a _very _large room lined with brick walls and wooden floors. Further ahead to his left was a piano, and in two different stands was a violin and viola. Shelves full of books on the right and back wall. A couch near the middle of the room, but closer to the bookshelves, as well as a modern, damask armchair. A coffee table completed the set. Beyond the couch and beyond the back wall was a hall that more than likely led to the bedrooms and bathroom, and beyond the right wall was most likely the kitchen.

A place that _definitely _required riches.

"Would you like to sit in the kitchen or in here?" Sasuke asked.

"Here is fine," Gaara answered.

Sasuke nodded. "Anything to drink? Water? Tea? Are you old enough to drink beer?" Let it never be said that Sasuke was an enabler.

"I'm 20," Gaara answered. "But I'll have tea."

Sasuke went to the kitchen to put the kettle to boil.

He came back few minutes later with a tray of tea and other paraphernalia to have with it. Gaara watched him closely. Very well mannered.

When Sasuke sat on the armchair with a bottle of water, Gaara reached forward and took his tea, then turned to the male and said with a hint of malevolence, "Well you're obviously properly trained."

"I suppose," Sasuke answered. The two of them kept their eyes connected.

"What does someone with your pomp and circumstance want to have to do with someone like Naruto?" the brunet asked brusquely.

"I don't think my stature has anything to do with Naruto," Sasuke answered.

"Hnh." Another sip. The tea was good. "What are your intentions with him?"

"Meaning?"

"You graduate in another year and half, no? And then...?"

"And then?" Sasuke asked.

"Is that it? Will have had your fun?" Gaara supplied.

Sasuke prepared for this. "I don't call what Naruto and I have as fun. I don't know about his end, but on mine, this isn't fun. It's torture." He couldn't finish the thought, because Gaara interrupted.

"Because you don't have sex?"

_That_ he hadn't been prepared for. "No," he answered. "No."

"Then why torture?"

At this, Sasuke's eyes finally lost the battle, and he looked down. It was never his intention to show sentiment in front of anyone. "Every time I'm with him," he said, tone softer, "I'm in pain. Because of what he is. What type of person he is. I'll never be like that. And I don't know how I ever got hold of something like that."

He looked up at Gaara, and Gaara said nothing.

"I don't deserve him. That's why it's torture."

"Hnh." Gaara put the tea down and looked over at Sasuke. "You're right," he said finally. "You don't deserve him, and he _is _too good for the likes of you. _Especially _you, in fact."

Something made Sasuke want to fall apart like a used toy.

"But I suppose that that's relative because _no_ one deserves Naruto. He's too beyond all of us," he said, more to himself than to Sasuke, eyes rolling upward. "But I know what's happened to him since I last saw him five years ago. I know everything—Jiraiya told me of what happened to him at school when he was off the wheelchair, and how it affected his speech. And Kiba told me that you're the one who's gotten him back to speaking again."

He paused, and Sasuke just sat there quietly.

"Thank you, Uchiha Sasuke. You may not deserve him, but you're above the filth in this world."

A tier above filth, was he? He'd accept that. Because sometimes he felt worse than filth when he was around Naruto.

"Naruto cherishes you. So I warn you now: be prepared for him because what you have gotten from him is not all you will get from him. But what you get from him may be all that he can give to you. And with all he can give to you, don't ask more of him."

And there, Sasuke was falling apart again, because Gaara was cleaving him in two. The strength at which their bond was tied, Gaara's and Naruto's, was enough to choke him.

He could do nothing more than accept the words with amazement. What _else_ could Naruto possibly give to him that he already hadn't given? _I don't think I could possibly take anymore_, he thought. He'd be smothered, suffocated.

There were no words exchanged between the two of them for a few minutes.

Sasuke stared at Gaara and then at his left ear. He wanted to look closer. Gaara caught his glance. He shifted on the couch so Sasuke had room to sit next to him. "Look at it," he said, and Sasuke didn't hesitate before he sat next to him, leaning close, looking. And then he touched it.

Naruto's words were suddenly in his mind: _There's something about Sasuke that reminds me of a little kid. He's insistent on sating his curiosity at any means. It was something I resisted at first, but now I don't mind it so much. He's invasive, but I don't think in a bad way._

"What does it feel like?" Sasuke asked, pushing Gaara's hair a little around the device connected to his cranium.

"Like an earring on my skull," he answered. And Sasuke suddenly looked at his earlobe and saw a pierced hole, but no earring. Perhaps wayward in his past, but trying to be more professional.

"What does it sound like?" he asked, the tips of his fingers whisping on the sound processor.

"Normal," Gaara answered. "Clear."

"Do you regret it?" Sasuke asked.

These were the exact questions that Naruto had asked him a just earlier. Gaara placed no significance on this, though. He gave the exact answer. "Very rarely."

"Mm. I'll have to do some more research on it later," Sasuke said. He pulled away, then sat back in the armchair. "How did you go deaf?" he asked.

"To be fair, I never went completely deaf. When I was twelve I acquired meningitis and suffered complete loss in my left ear and was down to about thirty decibels in my right ear, which is mild. I had to have corrective surgery, but it was too invasive and rudimentary at that time, and it traumatized my right ear and I went down about thirty more decibels."

"When did you get the cochlear implant?" Sasuke asked.

"When I was sixteen," Gaara answered. "About a year after I last saw Naruto."

"You met Naruto at a hospital."

"Yes. I was fifteen at that time. He was thirteen. He was about to kill himself. Wheeled himself into the middle of the street."

The words bit at Sasuke. He already knew about this, but it didn't sting any less. "The idiot," he said under his breath.

"Yes. An idiot. But I convinced him to go to JSL with me, which I'd started attending about two months before."

"So for about three years you didn't know sign language."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Gaara's eyes bored into his. "The reasons are complicated. Not something that I wish to get into."

Sasuke acceded and didn't ask any further questions in that area.

It was Sasuke's turn. When he initially learned about Gaara from Naruto, he vowed that he would thank him, and that was his exact intention to do so now. "Thank you, Gaara." The words were foreign on his tongue, but didn't feel wrong. They were genuine.

Without Gaara, Sasuke wouldn't have Naruto.

"Mm," was the response. He looked at his phone. "You have somewhere important to be tomorrow. I suspect you need your rest, with all that has happened the past two days. Don't sacrifice your performance tomorrow for the sake of a late night."

Sasuke nodded, standing. Gaara walked to the front door, Sasuke behind him, and then turned to the raven when he reached it.

"Uchiha Sasuke, trust that this conversation stays here. I have no desire to meddle in your affairs with Naruto at this point. I see your sincerity toward him. Besides, he is his own person and I cannot stop him from whatever he wants to do. Have a good night."

"Good night," Sasuke said in response as he opened the door. What else could he possibly say? The brunet stepped out and he closed the door behind him, walking back into the apartment, hands in his hair, elbows spread.

The people that surrounded Naruto were so intense.

Naruto was something else entirely, of a different world.

**- Silent Sonata -**

"Oh Naruto," Sakura said, her eyes red at the rims. She didn't want to touch him, feared that she would break him. Neither she nor the others saw Naruto at the hospital. By the time she'd received the text from Sasuke, visiting hours were over. When they'd planned to visit him the next day (yesterday), he was already home, and they would let him rest.

He had a bruise on his cheek and scratches on the side of his forehead, both from where he'd fallen. He also had scratches all over his arms from the grit of the bricks and the pebbles on the ground.

Sakura made a tinny noise in the back of her throat when she looked at his hands, and her tears fell. What kind of monster would do this to Naruto? Who would ever want to do this to Naruto?

"Naruto," she said again, her voice shaking, drawling out the last letter.

"Shag'a," Naruto said, tilting his head.

Her tears fell again. It was the first time she heard him say her name.

Naruto rolled his eyes heavenward and reached forward, fingers grazing her arm. "I' be fine, Shag'a. 'm no' anyone t'c'y o'er."

Sakura snapped her eyes at him, and she signed viciously, «Don't you ever say that, Naruto! You're worth all the tears to fill the oceans, okay?!»

Naruto flushed at her words. He turned slightly and saw Hinata, Neji, Kankurou, Temari, Ino, Lee, Iruka and Kurenai walking toward them. He braced himself.

The exchange was awkward at best, pathos being passed around like food over a table of estranged relatives. He was increasingly getting uncomfortable. Thankfully Iruka saved him, pulling him aside so they could speak privately.

No matter how much Naruto knew that none of this was his fault, he kept apologizing, and Iruka had to keep reminding him, "No, no, Naruto. You have nothing to be sorry for. It will be okay. Just concentrate on your recovery."

He and Naruto went back to the group, talking about preparations. Lee, Ino, and Sakura had volunteered to drive together so that they could use Lee's car to transport some of the instruments. Sakura was going to be the translator at the last school. Naruto looked at his phone to check the time. 7:45. They had about half an hour before they had to leave to make it to the first school by 8:40 so they could start their first performance by 9. They had a strict schedule to follow, and Sasuke wasn't here yet.

Ten minutes later, Sasuke did arrive and they began arranging their affairs. Naruto elected to drive with Sasuke alone. The ride to the first school was silent between the two of them. They got to the empty gymnasium and began to set up while Kurenai and Iruka spoke to the school director and vice principal off to the side.

About fifteen minutes later, the students had piled in and were sitting on the bleachers, quietly listening as the principal introduced them to the students and professors of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Naruto sat with Lee, Ino, and Sakura. He was fine when the introduction, Hinata playing her harp. He watched her closely. He watched Neji and Sasuke perform together closely, and Temari and Kankuro. But it was when he saw Iruka sitting at the piano playing with Sasuke instead of himself that he felt the pain hitting him.

He cried silently for the next fifty minutes and excused himself for the half hour that they answered some questions from the students. Ino, Lee, and Sakura, in the mean time, put the instruments away for them so that time wasn't lost. They had three more schools to go to.

They left right after and continued to the next school, which was about twenty minutes on the highway and another few minutes through the streets (in all, the time it took for them to go from one school to the next, set up, perform, answer questions, and leave, and get to the next school, was about two and a half hours).

Naruto and Sasuke didn't speak.

At the last school that they arrived, Naruto stomach pinched. It was his old JSL school. Kiba said he would try to make it there, but it was an hour away from Tokyo (the ensemble had made their way southwest from Tokyo) and he had exams.

He stood in front of the building, _Osaka City School for the Deaf. _This was where Naruto went for nearly two years. While everyone else was setting up, Naruto decided to walk through the school halls, Sasuke silently a few steps behind, watching him soak in the memories. He ended up at the dormitories. He wondered if some of the younger kids he knew still attended this school, or if they'd elected, like him, to go to a public school. There were three in particular that he remembered, the youngest of them a girl of mixed heritage, like him, who had attached herself to him since the first day she met him because _You are like me. I'm really not alone__. __We're all the same here, and I still felt different. But you're just like me._

He wondered if they were still here.

Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned. He thought it would be Sasuke.

«Naruto?»

Tears sprang to his eyes.

"Gonohama'u," he said softly.

The younger teenager latched on to him tightly, and he couldn't help but gasp because his torso still hurt. But he wrapped his hands as best he could around the fifteen year old. Konohamaru pulled away from him.

«What happened to you? How've you been? Where've you been?! Who's that guy?» He then gasped vociferously. «Are you with the school that's playing the music for us soon?!»

Sasuke smiled at the exchange, unable to help himself.

Konohamaru looked over at the raven. «Are you deaf too?»

"'No,'" Sasuke answered. "'But I know sign. For the most part, at least.'"

"Waaah," Konohamaru said aloud in amazement.

Naruto canted his head at Sasuke and twitched it in their direction, inviting him to come closer. Strange, it was, that as a deaf person, he would need someone who could hear to translate his words into sign for him due to the circumstances.

"'m sho'y. I wash'n'n agshiden' th'oth'day, sho I can' pe'fo'm," the blond explained. "I wa'sh'posh' t'p'ay piano."

Sasuke listened closely to Naruto, and then signed for him. Strange, it was, that as a person who could hear, he would need to translate his words to a deaf person from another deaf person. «I'm sorry. I was in an accident the other day, so I can't perform. I was supposed to play piano.»

«Shit happens,» Konohamaru replied, to which Naruto grinned.

Two girls were passing by the three of them, and they both shyly turned to each other and giggled madly, hands flying up in a flurry of signs, the words 'so cute' and 'gorgeous!' and 'so excited' at the tips of their fingers. They were such normal teenagers.

Sasuke was amazed. His phone pinged. A text message from Sakura.

_You two need to get over here _

_now! Iruka wants you back!_

Sasuke turned to Naruto, holding up his phone.

«We should go!» Konohamaru said. Naruto learned, on the way to the gymnasium, that Udon had moved to Hokkaido, and Moegi moved to England, but that the three of them still stayed connected.

**.o.**

The difference between these children and the students from the other three school was that these ones weren't quiet when they entered. The large gymnasium was buzzing with sound, some unintelligible, some words slurred out in excitement, like birds chirping on a forest. It was _packed_ with about 250 children as young as four to others as old as 18 sitting on specially made seats that only this school had. Each seat had a device under it that transmitted sounds to vibrations.

Some of them said aloud or by sign how gorgeous the girl one with short black hair was. Others, No, the one with the long blonde hair! Yet others, Handsome! Cute! Oh my goodness, this is the best day ever! Hot!

They were taking pictures and giggling and blushing and pointing and shyly putting their hair behind their ears, and the boys were trying to act cool and mature to impress some of the college girls.

They were all so normal. Typical youths. They just couldn't hear.

The school principal was introducing the students to the ensemble, and then to Naruto.

«He was a student here for two years!» the principal said, and the kids cheered, their hands waving in the air to clap silently. «He is a pianist at his school! Mr. Uzumaki has something he would like to say to us.»

Naruto _had_ prepared a speech days ago, and had asked Sakura earlier to translate it for him.

"'Unfortunately,'" Sakura started speaking aloud for the benefit of those who could hear, "'Circumstances don't allow me to speak to you directly. I was in an accident two days ago so I can't sign. What I have to say isn't much, and it isn't long. It's simple.'" Sakura had to brace herself. "'We won't always be here, together, in this sanctuary that can chase away the darkness. When you're out there, don't let anyone tell you you can't, because you can. Don't think that you won't, because you will. If you fall, get up. We can do whatever we want. Look at me. I'm still learning this every day. Even as I'm talking to you, I'm still learning this. We can do _whatever_ we want. Don't just dream; do. Make the unreality a reality.'"

They cheered and their hands waved in the air again.

After thanking Naruto and Sakura for the words, the principal gave Iruka and Sakura the floor. This particular gymnasium had specially built flooring and walls so that the acoustics were well felt, but Naruto was more excited about the chairs, which they didn't have when he was attending the school. There were microphones for all of them to play in front of, which would transmit into sound systems situated under the seats.

Hinata started with her piece for the harp, and the children went silent. Sasuke watched, and again found himself amazed and how they wriggled on the seats in excitement, some looking at each other, some closing their eyes, some throwing their hands up in signs, some making noises.

Hinata cried when she was finished and went back, and Iruka, choked up as he introduced the next song, continued the program. Each piece a more wonderful experience than the last.

When they were done with all of the performances, the children had so _many_ questions, but mostly they wanted to touch the instruments, to feel them physically. Naruto took one of the little ones and placed her hands on the sound board of the harp as Hinata plucked a few beautiful notes. That little girl was so happy, letting out little sounds, thanking Hinata over and over.

Some laid their hands on the piano like it was holy relic, and Naruto, with his better hand, played some notes, some chords, never minding the pain in his wrist.

Kankuro had a few at a time clasping their hands on his cello and he drawled out a few notes. Sasuke and Neji showed a few of them how to play the viola and violin, positioning it under their chins correctly, guiding the students as they stroked the bow across the strings and pressed their left fingers down to make notes.

Some of them wanted to take pictures alongside the college students, two boys flanking Temari and throwing up their index and middle fingers in the classic 'peace' pose.

They stayed for about an hour and a half before the children had to retire to their dormitories to study or to eat, and some of the students cried as they had to leave.

"I don't th-think I'll ever h-have a better experi-experience in my life. I am complete," Hinata said as she closed her case.

"I'd have to agree," Temari said. "Gaara never talked much about this school. Mostly about Naruto," she finished.

Sakura and Ino talked to the principal to learn about ways that they could become art teachers, what steps they had to take, and he gave them his business card so that they could contact him in a year or so for summer activities. Lee jokingly mentioned teaching martial arts and to his surprise was told by the gym teacher that they were trying to incorporate more of those things as extracurricular activities. They had an interview set up for a month from now, and he had the prospect of teaching twice a week at the school if all went well.

**- Silent Sonata -**

Sasuke was stopped at a light, fingers drumming on his steering wheel. He turned to Naruto and said quite abruptly, «So how do you feel about hearing again? After today?»

Naruto hummed. "I hafto a'mit...Up un'il reshen'ly, I fough' abou'i again n' again."

«Oh?» Sasuke signed as he released the brake.

"Mmhmm. Shometime I wanna hea'. Bu' I fink I'm gomfor'ble now."

«Good.» Sasuke said.

"Sass'ge. Whadd'you fink I should'do?"

Sasuke pulled the car over and looked over at Naruto. "'I can't tell you that, Naruto. That wouldn't be fair.'"

"I fee'lig... I'be bechraying what'I'begome," Naruto said, fingers twisting around a lose string on the button of his shirt. "Righ'now...I'm in luff wiff de worl' I shee when I c'ose my eye and lishen wiff my body. I fink dat if I hea'gain, I won'be ab' to 'pprecia' i'the way I do now."

"'Okay then. You don't have to decide now. Maybe in five or ten years, you'll want to hear. Whatever you decide, just don't regret it.'"

"Mm," Naruto agreed. He then chuckled, and Sasuke silently asked him what he found so funny. "I wanna hea' you'foi', _Sass'ge_."

Naruto placed his hand against Sasuke, fingers wrapping around his neck. "Say sumfin."

"I don't know what you want me to say," Sasuke said. "I enjoyed myself today." Naruto's eyes closed. He was now talking to himself. "Those kids in Osaka were the best audience I've ever played in front of. Naruto, you've given me so many things and I don't know what I can possibly give back to you. I don't think I can take it anymore. It's stifling, but I can't get enough of it. I never want—"

Naruto opened his eyes and smiled, pulling his hand away. "You' foice loo's deep. I c'n see't, but shometime I wanna ashully hea' it. Bu' I know I'. You dun' haff mush inf'e'shun. I's s'agnan."

It was stunningly accurate. Yes, Sasuke had a deep voice, and it was rather flat, devoid of much modulation. Stagnant, just like Naruto described.

"I lig'it," Naruto said. "I's lig...a shtep abofe th'shilensh. Lig... if I c'ose my eye, you'foice's lig an ene'ge'c frien' of the dar'ness."

Sasuke felt sick.

_It's like a step above the silence. Like...if I close my eyes, your voice is like an energetic friend of the darkness._

It was words like these that tortured him.

"Sass'ge?"

He wanted to be connected to him forever.

"Sass'ge?"

He pulled Naruto toward him again and pressed his face into his hair. He didn't want Naruto to change. Naruto was the embodiment of perfection.

**.**

**.o.**

**.**

* * *

**Comment: **Just a little more.

**Performances:**

**Hinata **Godefroid - Etude de concert op. 193  
**Sasuke & Neji **Handel-Halvorsen** - **Passacaglia**  
Temari & Kankuro **Astor Piazzolla - Oblivion**  
Sasuke & Naruto **Ralph Vaughan-Williams - Romance for Viola and Piano**  
Hinata **Jacques Ibert - Harp Fantaisie from "Six Pieces"**  
Naruto **Philip Glass - Opening**  
Neji & Kankuro **Apocalyptica - Nothing Else Matters [unable to find a good cover with just one cello and one violin, so use your imagination]  
**Sasuke **Bach - Ciaccona  
**Temari & Hinata **HarpSong - The King of Fairies  
**Kankuro & Naruto **Arvo Paart - Spiegel im Spiegel

Yes, I realize that in the previous chapter, Naruto was going to play five piano pieces, however, Iruka had to, once again, modify the programme.


End file.
